neringa Stepanauskaitė is poised to make her Winter olympics debut in Cortina d’Ampezzo, representing Lithuania in slalom and giant slalom – a remarkable feat for an athlete who honed her skills in a country not traditionally known for alpine skiing. Stepanauskaitė’s journey, beginning at the Druskininkai snow Arena, highlights a rising profile for the sport within Lithuania, following in the tracks of previous Olympic skiers dating back to 1998 [[1]]. Now, the 20-year-old looks to build on a recent personal best and surpass the results of her predecessors as Lithuania’s youngest representative at the Games.
Neringa Stepanauskaitė grew up in a city without mountains, but with an indoor snow arena. It’s a unique background for an athlete who is now making waves in the world of alpine skiing.
Stepanauskaitė began her journey with the sport at the Druskininkai Snow Arena and quickly progressed, eventually training in Italy for several years. This year, she achieved her best result in the slalom event in Lithuanian women’s alpine skiing history, earning her a spot at the Winter Olympics.
Having bested fellow Druskininkai native Liepa Karlonaitė, 19, and Gabija Šinkūnaitė, 21, from Anykščiai, who represented Lithuania at the 2022 Beijing Games, Stepanauskaitė is preparing to compete in the slalom and giant slalom events in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Lithuanian Olympic Skiers: A Historical Overview
- Linas Vaitkus (Nagano 1998): Downhill – 25th place, Combined – did not finish;
- Vitalijus Rumiancevas (Turin 2006): Slalom – 44th place, Giant Slalom and Super G – disqualified;
- Vitalijus Rumiancevas (Vancouver 2010): Giant Slalom – 59th, Slalom – did not finish;
- Rokas Zaveckas (Sochi 2014): Giant Slalom – 63rd, Slalom – did not finish;
- Ieva Januškevičiūtė (Sochi 2014): Giant Slalom – did not finish, Slalom – did not finish;
- Andrejus Drukarovas (Pyeongchang 2018): Giant Slalom – 59th, Slalom – 41st;
- Ieva Januškevičiūtė (Pyeongchang 2018): Giant Slalom – 54th, Slalom – 43rd;
- A.Drukarovas (Beijing 2022): Slalom – did not finish (20th after the first run), did not start in giant slalom due to injury;
- Gabija Šinkūnaitė (Beijing 2022): Slalom – did not finish.
Recently, 15min reported on the financial challenges facing the young skier and her family as she pursues her career, which includes spending a significant portion of the year training in Italy, as well as the swift response from sponsors.
Now, let’s take a closer look at Lithuania’s youngest representative at the Games.
– Neringa, you practiced rollerblading, swimming, volleyball as a child, but you chose alpine skiing – why?
“Despite those activities, alpine skiing was always there alongside them. Even when I was swimming and playing volleyball, my priority was always alpine skiing.”
“I think it was that passion, from the moment I first started skiing. After that, I focused solely on alpine skiing, and that’s all I’ve been doing recently.”
– What captivated you most about alpine skiing?
“Probably the excitement, the speed, and the atmosphere in my first team at Snow Arena. I was seven years old when I started skiing there, and I immediately loved the team and the coach.”
– We know that ski stars train at Snow Arena in the summer, but you probably acquired your basic skills during the winters?
“Yes, when I was younger, we trained mostly at Snow Arena. We only traveled to Poland, Latvia, Estonia, or other countries for competitions.”
“When I got older, starting at age 13, I began training mostly in the mountains, and I maintain my fitness at Snow Arena during the off-season.”
– Not many thirteen-year-olds would be willing to move to Italy. How did that come about?
