On Friday in Madrid (Spain), in the first division of the European Team Championship, the leaders of the Lithuanian 100 m race – 19-year-old Ema Rupšytė and 20-year-old Adas Dambrauskas – competed. E. Rupšytė, who took 14th place, covered the 100 m distance in 11.65 seconds, which is her new personal record. A. Dambrauskas, who repeated the Lithuanian 60 m record a few months ago, covered the 100 m distance in 10.34 seconds, improved the season record and won the 13th place.
The personal record set by E. Rupšytė three weeks ago (11.68 seconds) did not last long. The sprinter, who started for the first time in the international adult championship, ran faster than ever, and her efforts brought 3 points to the Lithuanian team’s account.
“The result is very pleasing. I had the opportunity to run in competitions of this level, with athletes of this level. I am very pleased. I have participated in the European U18 Championship, but you can’t compare it to this competition. There was that excitement like before every competition, but maybe this time it was suppressed by the heat,” said the athlete, who became the champion of the Lithuanian 60 m race in winter.
This year, the athlete improved both the 60 m personal record and the 100 m, and she is grateful to coach Martas Skrabulis for such achievements. E. Rupšytė, who fulfilled the standard for the European U23 Championship three weeks ago, will seek to improve her personal record there once again, and her performance in the European Team Championship is not over yet. On Saturday, the sprinter will start in the 4×100 m relay, where she and her teammates will challenge the Lithuanian record (43.95 seconds).
A. Dambrauskas, who made his debut at the European and World Indoor Championships in winter, ran the 100 m distance for the second time this year. In the Cosma Cup competition held on June 18, the sprinter ran the distance in 10.48 seconds in the qualifiers, and in the final in 10.56 seconds. and took third place. Although the time recorded in Madrid is better, the Lithuanian was not satisfied with his performance:
“It was definitely not the best run and result. According to the training and how everything was going – I expected better. It is gratifying that I overtook several opponents and won points for Lithuania. I am not happy myself, but I hope that others will be happy about such a result. I suffered an injury at the Cosma Cup competition, pinched a nerve. Now I was running through pain too, I felt something in the middle of the distance, I thought of stopping, but I remembered the team meeting, where team captain Andrius Gudžius and team manager Nijolė Medvedeva said about the need to finish.”
A. Dambrauskas, who has gained useful experience this year, says that now his attitude towards results is different than before, and the main start of the year is still ahead. The athlete sets the highest goals for himself at the European U23 Championships, which will take place on July 17-20 in Bergen (Norway).
“When I was 16 or 17 years old, after a bad run, it seemed like the end of the world. You need to understand the fact that I am not preparing for this competition. The goal here was to help Lithuania, I hope I did, but my main championship will be in a month. I will try to achieve a good result there, and here was a good start to the season, although I expected an even better one,” said A. Dambrauskas.
On June 6, the track and field athlete together with Kostas Skrabulis, Kristupas Seikauskas and Gediminas Truskauskas improved the Lithuanian record of the 4×100 m relay, which existed for 17 years. On Saturday, the Lithuanian national team will run the 4×100 m relay again, and A. Dambrauskas says that the record can be improved again: “The relay is really fun, more teamwork. You are not so stressed, because the pressure is not only on your shoulders and teammates can help. I think we are well prepared, so we should expect another Lithuanian record.”
After the second day of the championship, the Lithuanians are ranked 16th (46 points). The Finns (76 points), the Greeks are 14th (77.5 points), and the Dutch (165.5 points) are in the lead.
On Saturday, at 19:00, the third day of the first division of the European Team Championship will begin. The competition will be broadcast live on the Eurovision Sport portal.
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Photo by Alfredas Pliadis
