Alvydas Duonėla

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2008)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Alvydas Duonėla (born 27 June 1976 in Skuodas) is a Lithuanian flatwater canoer. With team-mate Egidijus Balčiūnas, he has won three world championship gold medals in the kayak K-2 200m sprint.

Duonėla's specialist 200m races are not included in the Olympic schedule. At the 2000 Olympics, he raced in the K-1 500m instead, placing seventh in the final. He also competed in the K-2 500m with Egidijus Balčiūnas, where they were eliminated in the semi-finals.

Over the next three years the Duonėla/Balčiūnas partnership won three consecutive world championships in their favoured K-2 200m event.

For the 2004 Olympics they again had to switch to the 500m. This time they reached the final where they finished seventh. In the individual K-1 500m, however, Duonėla was knocked out at the semi-final stage.

At the 2005 World Championships in Zagreb, Duonėla and Balčiūnas started as favourites to defend their 200m title. However they were surprisingly beaten into second place by Dragan Zorić and Ognjen Filipović of Serbia and Montenegro. Despite this setback, Duonela's performances throughout the 2005 season earned him first place in the International Canoe Federation men's kayak rankings, ahead of Australian Nathan Baggaley.

Duonėla is 190 cm / 6'3 tall and weighs 89 kg / 196 lbs. He is a member of the Žalgiris Canoe Club in Vilnius. He lists his interests as music and rallying.