On Sunday, the Lithuanian Athletics Championships finished in the renovated Palanga Stadium, which attracted crowds of spectators for all three days of the competition. On the last day of the championship, Marius Vadeikis gave himself the best gift of the previous birthday, who not only became the champion, but also improved his personal record by nine centimeters. Meanwhile, in the triple jump sector, the title of champion was defended by Dovilė Kilty.

On August 2, M. Vadeikis celebrated his 36th birthday, and on August 3 he celebrated the eighth gold medal of the Lithuanian Championship in the long jump. In the last sixth attempt, when all the fans applauded unanimously, M. Vadeikis jumped 7.99 m (x-7.82-7.86-7.74-x-7.99) and won a confident victory. This result is the best in his career, while the previous personal record (7.90 m) was held for only a week.

“I don’t know if this is maturity, or the peace of life, or the environment. I don’t know who is to blame, but it went very well. Probably the biggest emphasis is that my family, my wife, allow me to do it. I feel a lot of support from my wife, my little children and my group. Of all those who might not want me to jump further. It motivates me,” said the Lithuanian long jump champion.

When asked about the help from the stands, M. Vadeikis was pleased with everyone’s understanding: “Spectators who understand and love athletics always gather in Palanga. I trust them all the time, and when I ask for support, they never let me down.”

The athlete, who surprises everyone with his demonstrated results, came even closer to the Lithuanian record. Since 2011, this has been owned by Povilas Mykolaitis (8.15 m). It is impressive that M. Vadeikis not only successfully sports and wins titles himself, but also trains others. The athlete is the head coach of the Lithuanian national team’s jumping competitions: “I try very hard to wish my students to enjoy the competition, not just look for personal results. The most fun is the process, and the result will come.”

In the triple jump sector, three of the country’s most capable triple jumpers – D. Kilty, Diana Zagainova and Aina Grikšaitė – sought gold in the Lithuanian championship. For the ninth time, D. Kilty became the national champion, who achieved the best result of the Lithuanian season (13.83 m). The second place was taken by D. Zagainova (13.75 m), and the bronze medal was won by A. Grikšaitė (13.49 m).

“It’s a lot of fun to compete in this new stadium. I am very happy with the renewal, and the mood was great – as always in the Lithuanian championship. Today it wasn’t all about the result, but about the victory. That’s what I trained for,” said D. Kilty.

Currently, the athlete is claiming to qualify for the fifth World Championships. In the ranking system, D. Kilty is 32nd, and 36 triple jumpers will go to Tokyo (Japan). We remind you that Mykolas Alekna (discus throw) and Gabija Galvydytė (800 m, 1500 m) have fulfilled the World Championship norms.

“I want to show what I can do best at the World Cup. I really like to participate in the World and European Championships. I hope to qualify for my fifth World Championship and it will be successful. In July, it was a huge workload, coach Janina Tribienė and I worked very hard. I really want to thank her for her work and patience. Now I will train more for competitions and improve my form. All the hard training was done in July,” D. Kilty reviewed the work done and emphasized his desire to participate in the planetary championships.

Sprinter Gediminas Truskauskas, who became the champion in the 200 m race on Sunday, is also striving for a place in the World Championships. The winner covered the distance in 20.70 seconds. and won the eighth gold medal of the Lithuanian Championship in this event. Although the main goal was achieved, the athlete expected a better result:

“The goal of defending the title of champion has been fulfilled. The goal, like the last three starts, was to run about 20.50 seconds. I hoped to show this time in this competition as well, because it is also important because of the World Cup ranking system. We will analyze the mistakes and move on. Today it is difficult to name who put his foot down. The mood was maximum, and all the conditions were very good.”

In July, G. Truskauskas ran the 200 m distance once in 20.52 seconds. and twice in 20.51 seconds. This time is very close to the Lithuanian record, which has been held by G. Truskauskas since 2021 (20.48 seconds). According to the athlete, this season is the most stable for him, which is justified by the national records achieved – in winter, the sprinter improved the Lithuanian 200 m indoor record (20.98 seconds), and in June he was part of the men’s 4×100 m record relay (39.77 seconds).

“There are still a couple of starts ahead, so we’ll see how it ends with that World Championship and whether we can get into it. I would say that in 4-5 years and during all the time I have been training with Marta Skrabulis, that form is the most stable and best. Before, it was not possible to run so well stably,” G. Truskauskas was happy.

Before the Lithuanian Championships, the athlete entered the 61st position in the ranking system, and 48 sprinters will go to the World Championships. The representatives of the Lithuanian national team in the World Championship should be revealed in the last week of August.

The Lithuanian champions on Sunday were Lukrecija Sabaitytė (200 m – 23.49 sec.), Mindaugas Balčiauskis (5000 m – 14 min. 44.63 sec.), Vaida Žūsinaitė-Nekriošienė (5000 m – 16 min. 36.23 sec.), Lukas Šermukšnis (400 m hurdles – 51.84 sec.), Aiva Labanauskaitė (400 m hurdles – 1 min. 02.58 sec.), Kasparas Gustas (pole vault – 5.10 m), Rugilė Miklyčiūtė (pole vault – 4.00 m), Simonas Bakanas (shot put – 17.70 m), Ieva Gumbs (shot put – 15.47 m), Olivia Vaitaitytė (heptathlon – 4940 points). In the 4×400 m mixed relay, the second team from Vilnius triumphed (Miroslav Zniščinskij, Elinga Semeniuk, Dariuš Križanovskij, Eglė Vaitulevičiūtė – 3 min. 37.07 sec.).

The sports club team competition was won by Vilnius SK “COSMA” (24680), the second place was won by the second team of this club (15885), the third place was won by Panevėžys SK “Žvaigždė” (15513). In the second group of clubs, Klaipėda runners’ club “Maratonas” (4016) was the leader.

More than 300 athletes and 23 paraathletes participated in the Lithuanian championship (more than ever before – author’s note). The National Championship in Palanga took place for the tenth anniversary.

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Photo by Alfredas Pliadis