Virgilijus Alekna facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Virgilijus Alekna

Virgilijus Alekna at 2014 Lithuanian Championships in Athletics
Personal information
Nationality	Lithuanian
Born	(1972-02-13) 13 February 1972 (age 53) Terpeikiai, Lithuania
Height	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Weight	130 kg (287 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Discus throw
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	73.88 m (2000)
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 0 1 World Championships 2 2 0 European Championships 1 1 1 Continental Cup 4 1 0 IAAF Grand Prix Final 1 1 0 IAAF World Cup 2 0 0 European Throwing Cup 0 1 0 Goodwill Games 0 0 1 Olympic Games Gold 2000 Sydney Discus Gold 2004 Athens Discus Bronze 2008 Beijing Discus World Championships Gold 2003 Paris Discus Gold 2005 Helsinki Discus Silver 1997 Athens Discus Silver 2001 Edmonton Discus European Championships Gold 2006 Gothenburg Discus Silver 2002 Munich Discus Bronze 1998 Budapest Discus IAAF World Athletics Final Gold 2003 Monte Carlo Discus Gold 2005 Monte Carlo Discus Gold 2006 Stuttgart Discus Gold 2009 Thessaloniki Discus Silver 2007 Stuttgart Discus IAAF Grand Prix Final Gold 2001 Melbourne Discus Silver 1999 Munich Discus IAAF World Cup Gold 1998 Johannesburg Discus Gold 2006 Athens Discus European Throwing Cup Silver 2013 Castellón Discus Goodwill Games Bronze 2001 Brisbane Discus
Updated on 12 August 2012.

Virgilijus Alekna (born February 13, 1972) is a famous Lithuanian athlete and politician. He is best known for his incredible career as a discus thrower. He won many important medals at the Summer Olympics, including two gold medals in 2000 and 2004, and a bronze medal in 2008.

After he stopped competing in athletics, Alekna was elected to the national parliament, called the Seimas, in 2016. He has three children: Martynas, Gabrielė, and Mykolas. His son, Mykolas Alekna, is also a discus thrower and holds the current world record!

Athletics Career Highlights

Virgilijus Alekna has won two gold medals in the discus throw at the Summer Olympics. His first gold was in Sydney 2000, and his second was in Athens 2004. He also earned a bronze medal in the same event at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

In 2007, he was named a UNESCO Champion for Sport. This means he helped promote sports and healthy living around the world.

Discus Throw Records

Alekna's personal best throw is 73.88 meters (about 242 feet). For a long time, this was one of the longest throws ever. Only Jürgen Schult's former world record of 74.08 meters was longer.

Recently, his own son, Mykolas Alekna, broke the world record with an amazing throw of 74.35 meters in 2024! Virgilijus Alekna also held an Olympic record of 69.89 meters from the Athens 2004 Olympics. This record was broken twice at the Paris 2024 Olympics, first by his son Mykolas, and then by Rojé Stona.

Major Competition Results

Here's how Virgilijus Alekna performed in some of the biggest competitions:

Alekna at his eighth World Championships in 2009, Berlin.

Awards and Personal Life

Virgilijus Alekna received the "Athlete of the Year" award in 2000 from Track and Field News, a famous sports magazine. The Lithuanian government also honored him with the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas. He was named the Lithuanian Sportsman of the Year four times: in 2000, 2004, 2005, and 2006.

From 1995, Alekna also worked as a bodyguard for the Prime Minister of Lithuania.

He is married to Kristina Sablovskytė-Aleknienė, who was a long jumper. They have two sons, Martynas and Mykolas Alekna, who are also discus throwers.

Alekna is very tall, about 2.02 meters (6 feet 7 inches). He also has a very long armspan, which is 2.24 meters (7 feet 4 inches). This long reach is very helpful for throwing the discus far! People say he can even make fingerprints on windows on both sides of a bus at the same time because of his long arms.

In 2007, Virgilijus Alekna competed in the World Championship even though he was injured. This injury ended his amazing streak of 37 wins in a row over two years. In 2017, he received the European Athletics Lifetime Achievement award for his incredible career.

Political Career

In May 2016, Virgilijus Alekna decided to enter politics. He announced he would run in the elections for the Seimas, which is Lithuania's national parliament. He ran with the Liberal Movement party.

Even though he didn't win in his local area, he was elected to the Twelfth Seimas (parliament) through his party's list. He was ranked second on their list, which helped him get a seat.

See also

In Spanish: Virgilijus Alekna para niños