Virgilijus Alekna

Virgilijus Alekna is a Lithuanian former discus thrower and politician, born on 13 February 1972. He won Olympic medals at three consecutive Games, taking gold in the discus throw at Sydney in 2000 and again at Athens in 2004, then bronze in the same event at Beijing in 2008. His personal best of 73.88 metres is exceeded only by the former world record set by Jürgen Schult in 1986 and by the current record of his son Mykolas Alekna, achieved in 2024. Track and Field News named him its Athlete of the Year for 2000, he was Lithuanian Sportsman of the Year four times, UNESCO appointed him Champion for Sport in 2007, and European Athletics gave him its Lifetime Achievement award in 2017. After retiring from athletics he stood for the Seimas on the Liberal Movement list in 2016 and was elected. He is married to the former long jumper Kristina Sablovskytė-Aleknienė, and their sons Martynas and Mykolas also throw the discus.