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There are nearly 80 Olympic and non-Olympic sports federations in Lithuania and the Lithuanian Union of Sports Federations was founded in 1993 to unite them. The ''Sports for All'' organization was established to promote physical education and a healthy lifestyle for all Lithuanians. Among the most popular sports in Lithuania are Basketball , Soccer , Athletics , and Cycling . BASKETBALL Basketball has always been the most popular sport in Lithuania. A few facts:
SOCCER Lithuania National Football Team is not a strong one, taking around number 100 ±20 in FIFA World Rankings in recent years. Highest rating #42 on 20th August 1997, lowest #118 1st September 2004 There are individual players playing in strong European football leagues, most famous of them:
The in Lithuania . Also, Lithuanians, like the rest of the Europe do like to watch UEFA Champions League , World Championships and other world class football tournaments. ATHLETICS Lithuanian athletes have won some medals in the Olympics and European/World championships, Virglijus Alekna being the top one. CYCLING There are several Lithuanian cyclists with high achievements in prestigious cycling tours and in World championships. Especially noteworthy are the achievements of Lithuanian women cyclists. Lithuanian women cyclists made their mark on the international scene very soon after Lithuania became an independent state. Leading the way in this were, among others, Zita Urbonaite and Diana Cepeliene, the latter of whom scored a 3rd place finish (overall GC) in the strong Women's Challenge in the Summer of 1991. Since then, among the most outstanding Lithuanian cyclists are the cycling twins Jolanta and Rasa Polikeviciute (the latter of whom was the World Road Race Champion for 2001), Edita Pucinskaite (1999 World Road Race Champion), and Diana Ziliute (1994 World Junior Road Race Champion, 1998 World Road Race Champion, and 2000 Olympic Games Road Race bronze medalist). There is also a strong program of promotion of cycling at the junior level for girls in Lithuania culminating in an annual international race for girls in Panevėžys . A number of young Lithuanian riders have emerged from this program, led by Modesta Vzesniauskaite who has already risen to the point where she is among the top riders in the world. OTHER SPORTS
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