Bridging the athlete-federation gap: Mindaugas Griskonis

Many elite rowers have gone onto roles within governing bodies of the sport after their retirement. Few can say they did so while also competing at the highest level. Mindaugas Griskonis, the four time Olympian from Lithuania, is not only still competing and training with the next Olympic Games in sight, he was also recently elected President of the Lithuanian Rowing Federation. World Rowing recently spoke to Griskonis to learn more about his many roles, and how he manages them.

Griskonis says his love of rowing comes from even before he was born, as both his parents were rowers. “My first rowing competition was in my mother’s belly. She took part in a race at the early stages of pregnancy.” Griskonis’ natural talent and competitiveness followed, picking up oars himself at the age of 13. Within just three years, he was already sculling at his first World Rowing Junior Championships, in the men’s quadruple sculls in 2002. He has raced as part of the Lithuanian Rowing national team ever since.

Starting early allowed Griskonis to have longevity in the sport, having competed in four Olympics, the first being Beijing in 2008. He raced primarily in the single sculls, but found his experience in a crew at the 2016 Rio Olympics a highlight: “There was a change of plans just weeks before leaving for Rio Olympics to partner up with Saulius Ritter in a double sculls, where we ended up winning a medal.”

After the Tokyo Olympic Games, where he finished 6th, Griskonis considered wrapping up his competitive rowing career, but his pride in continuing to represent Lithuania remained strong. He says, “realising that the qualification for the Paris Olympic Games is just around the corner, I told myself that I should try and qualify the boat for the nation.” His passion and contribution to Lithuanian sport were recognised formally in 2021, when he was awarded Lithuanian Sportsperson of the Year.

He was also recently elected the President of the Lithuanian Rowing Federation. “The community was looking for a change, so I decided to take the initiative and am grateful for the trust and the opportunity to bring the necessary change to my beloved sport” Griskonis explains.

He is enjoying the role, working to build a stronger relationship with various institutions and government departments, introducing rowing to a broader audience. Griskonis sees being an active athlete as a distinct advantage. “This gives me the great opportunity to build bridges between athletes and the Federation, and a clearer picture of the issues to allow me to solve them on the spot. I’m happy that I can share my support with other athletes to skip any possible barriers. My professional rowing profile also gives me the possibility to be the face of the Federation in the international arena.”

He outlines the challenges which will feel familiar to many rowing federations, including the need to increase the visibility of rowing. He believes investing in the next generation is vital. “The first goal would be to build a depth of a younger generation so in time there will be more potential Olympic participants. I’m also working on setting up a structure with clearer transparencies and responsibilities for the coaches on how they could join the national team or work on their skills”.

Griskonis does not take his unique position as athlete and President of the Federation lightly. He also feels the need to perform: “This puts me under some sort of pressure since I have to demonstrate results in two positions.”

One of the inevitable necessities of having multiple demanding roles is managing time. As a father, Griskonis’ morning usually starts with taking his daughter to school before going to the first of two training sessions on the water. From there, he steps into his other role: taking meetings with coaches and athletes or heading to the office or take part in Lithuania’s National Olympic committee’s meetings as a board member. In addition to all these responsibilities, Griskonis is also an owner of a logistics company, which requires regular attention, but his highest priority is always to spend what time he has with his family. Reflecting, he says, “I’m still wishing there were a few extra hours in a day.”

Griskonis is keen to instil his philosophy of a competitive environment in the Federation while remaining open-minded about learning new things. He also believes it has to be based on strong principles. “Rowing, like many other sports, must be based on fundamentals like respect, fair play and honour.” As a water-based sport, he also advocates to stakeholders about the environment, saying, “We would all agree that sustainability makes a huge impact on our sport. Clean water is necessary for rowing. We are working hard in finding ways how to protect the environment and cultural heritage in Lithuania.”

The American Benjamin Franklin once said that “if you want something done, ask a busy person.” Griskonis fits that saying rather well and is now looking forward to the upcoming Olympic cycle, where alongside leading his Federation, he is training hard to qualify for Paris.