Past Lives: OSU employee recalls decades-old Olympic memories
Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Media Contact: Page Mindedahl | Communications Specialist | 405-744-9782 | page.mindedahl@okstate.edu
When you meet Mindaugas Pukštas, he might introduce himself as a father, husband, or internal auditor at Oklahoma State University, but he might not mention he's also an Olympian.
Pukštas grew up in Lithuania during USSR occupation. While he does not remember much about what life was like growing up in his country as a part of the Soviet Union, he does remember they only had oranges on Christmas day, part of the rationing imposition caused by the occupation.
He was in the sixth grade when the Soviet Union collapsed, and he and his country entered a new chapter of history.
“When we got independence, that kind of opened the doors to the rest of the world,” Pukštas said.
The first door Pukštas opened would change his life forever. The year after independence, his school was looking for someone to run cross-country. After trying soccer and basketball, Pukštas attempted running and found he was talented at it.
“Nobody wanted to run back then, so I tried it, and I was successful. Then I progressed through the sport, and they asked me to come to the group and start there,” Pukštas said.
He continued to run throughout his school career, intending to make the Lithuanian Olympic team at some point. That dream was almost cut short. While running for his school at the university level, Pukštas was cut from the team.
“When I was cut, I realized that it kind of got me going. There were motivational things like ‘Hey, I'll make the Olympics by myself’ and ‘I didn't need your help,’” Pukštas said.
Pukštas's girlfriend and now wife, Zivile Pukštas, had a friend who had moved to the United States to attend Southern Methodist University as a track and field athlete a few years prior. This opportunity intrigued Pukštas and Zivile, so they moved to Dallas, where he competed as a graduate student.
After Pukštas competed in his first season at SMU, where he was a two-time All-American, he encountered another setback. The school cut the men’s track and cross-country programs.
Pukštas’s coach at SMU, Rene Sepulveda, got a job with the OSU track and field program, so Pukštas moved up to Stillwater to compete in one final cross-country season.
After becoming a cross-country All-American as a Cowboy, Pukštas immediately began training for the 2004 Olympic Marathon in Athens, Greece.
It took him only a short time to qualify for the Summer Games. On Feb. 15, he ran a 2:14.59 marathon at the Motorola Marathon in Austin, Texas.
Pukštas continued to train for months leading up to the Olympics. The route that he would be running would be the “original” marathon path. This route commemorates the messenger who ran from Marathon to Athens in 490 B.C. to deliver the message “Nike!” which translates to “victory.”
Pukštas ran a 2:33.02 in his Olympic marathon race and was one of 59 athletes representing the small Baltic country in the 2004 Olympics. He was only the fourth man from Lithuania to compete in the marathon event for the nation and holds the second-highest finish among Lithuanian marathon runners at the Olympics.
After the Games, Pukštas returned home to Stillwater with Zivile to begin raising their son, Rokas. After spending most of his life at full speed, Pukštas was ready to slow down and start his family.
Zivile has been an assistant coach for the OSU track and field team for over 20 years, specializing in jump events, and she has coached numerous All-Americans. Their son, Rokas, is a professional soccer player playing in Croatia’s top tier. He represented the United States U20 team on the international stage at the 2023 FIFA U20 World Cup.
Currently, Pukštas and Zivile spend most of their free time flying around the world to watch Rokas play soccer or staying in Stillwater to watch their daughter, Gabija, run for Stillwater High School.
Running opened up a new track for Pukštas, one that he took all the way to what he thought was his dream. Although the Olympics are a special memory, nothing compares to the other path running opened up: a family.
Watching his kids chase their dreams and compete at the next level has become the pride of Pukštas’s life and he wouldn’t have it any other way.