Kaunas University of Technology hosted an evening ceremony to honor and award the best Lithuanian student athletes of 2025, recognizing those who have brought fame to their alma mater and country in international sports arenas. Among them were many students from Vytautas Magnus University (VDU).
At the ceremony, athletes who won medals at the World University Summer Games and European University Championships were solemnly awarded commendations from the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport. At the FISU Rhine-Ruhr World University Summer Games (Universiade), Lithuanians won three gold and four bronze medals. At the European University Championships, they won four gold, four silver, and two bronze medals.
LSSA President Indrė Čelkienė emphasized that these athletes’ results raise the bar not only for students but also for Lithuanian high-performance sports.
“Each of these students is a source of inspiration for young athletes, university communities, and the whole of Lithuania,” said LSSA President I. Čelkienė during the awards ceremony. “Their work, discipline, and consistency show the power of the synergy between academics and high-level sports.”
One of the highlights of the awards was the historic achievements of the VDU 3×3 basketball team: gold medals in three major international tournaments. The VDU basketball trio team won a total of five titles in 2025 and deservedly became the best Lithuanian student team of 2025.
The results achieved in the 2024-2025 academic year student championships and SELL student games brought victory to Vytautas Magnus University in the overall team standings of higher education institutions. Lithuanian Sports University came second, and Vilnius University came third.
LSSA President Indrė Čelkienė and Dalia Galnaitytė, advisor to the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, awarded the best student athletes of Lithuanian universities in 2025 and presented commemorative gifts to rectors and sports center directors.
Rokas Jocys (coach – Dainius Novickas), a 3×3 basketball player, was recognized as the best athlete at Vytautas Magnus University. Vytautas Magnus University was awarded the “Image of the Year” award for its exceptional integration of athletes into university communications.
The highlight of the event was the presentation of the 2025 Top Ten Student Athletes award by LSSA President Indrė Čelkienė and Lithuanian National Olympic Committee Secretary General Mindaugas Griškonis, which is not ranked until third place.
Five VDU students made it into the top ten. They are rower and world championship finalist Giedrius Bieliauskas, rower and Universiade bronze medalist Arnedas Kelmelis, judoka and European university champion Augustas Šlyteris, swimmer and World Championship finalist and European Championship medalist Kotryna Teterevkova, and rower and World University Summer Games champion in the single sculls class Ugnė Juzėnaitė, who took second place in the top ten.
“The Lithuanian National Olympic Committee sincerely appreciates what the academic community is doing for the benefit of sport. I would like to thank the rectors for their strategic approach, which allows athletes to successfully combine both paths rather than having to choose between science and sport. I would like to thank the coaches for their patience, hard work, and belief in young people, even when they themselves sometimes lack faith in their own abilities,” said Daina Gudzinevičiūtė, President of the Lithuanian National Olympic Committee, in her congratulatory message. “I want to say a simple but important message to athletes: you are proof of our country’s progress. Your efforts, disciplined work, and ability to persevere inspire not only the world of sports but also society as a whole. Today, the awards will go to the best, but in fact, everyone wins because the community that believes in the power of sports and science wins. On behalf of the LTOK, I would like to wish that this power never weakens. May this celebration inspire new goals and new victories.”
Information from LSSA.lt
