| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Lithuanian |
| Born | (1910-01-16)16 January 1910 |
| Died | 21 December 2007(2007-12-21) (aged 97) Colleyville, Texas, U.S. |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | High jump |
Adolfas Akelaitis (16 January 1910 – 21 December 2007) was a Lithuanianhigh jumper and farmer. Akelaitis would compete at the1928 Summer Olympics, representingLithuania. He would be one of the first Lithuanian athletics competitors to compete at an Olympic Games and would be the first Lithuanian athlete to compete in themen's high jump at a Summer Games. There, he would place 33rd in the qualifying round and would not advance to the finals.
Later on, he would join theLithuanian Army and studied at theUniversity of Liège andUniversity of Vienna. He would then work at Lietukas, the largest import-export company in the nation, and would move and later set up an import-export in the United States in 1938. There, he would meet his wife and would reside in multipleNew York sites but would eventually reside inRaritan Township in New Jersey after buying a farm there in 1946. Akelaitis would work as a farmer and would reside inColleyville, Texas after his wife's death.
Adolfas Akelaitis was born on 16 January 1910 inMarijampolė in what was then theRussian Empire. Akelaitis would compete at the1928 Summer Olympics inAmsterdam,Netherlands, representingLithuania in men's athletics. He would be one of the first Lithuanian athletics competitors to compete at an Olympic Games and would be the first Lithuanian athlete to compete in the high jump at a Summer Games.[1][2]
He would compete in the qualifying round of themen's high jump on 29 July against 35 other competitors. There, he would record a height of 1.60 metres at his best, placing last out of the 33 competitors that completed the event. He would not advance to the finals held on the same day.[3]
After the 1928 Summer Games, Akelaitis would serve in theLithuanian Army. For his education, he would study the French language at theUniversity of Liège and business at theUniversity of Vienna. He would then work at Lietukas, the largest import-export company in the nation. In 1938, he would move to the United States and started an import-export corporation inNew York City. There, he would meet his soon wife Alice Pelkus and later marry in September 1939.[1]
They would reside inQueens and laterRockville Centre, but would settle inRaritan Township in New Jersey after buying a farm there in 1946. From then on, Akelaitis would live as a farmer. After his wife's death, he would reside inColleyville, Texas in 2003 until his death on 21 December 2007.[1]
