On Friday, Gabija Galvydytė gave another magical performance at the World Athletics Championships. For the fourth time in less than a week, the middle-distance runner, who entered the Tokyo Olympic Stadium, started in the semi-finals of the 800 m. Although she did not make it to the final, the Lithuanian simply smashed her personal record – it was improved by as much as 0.73 seconds.
G. Galvydytė, who recorded the second result of her career (1 minute 58.86 seconds) in the qualification on Thursday, was even faster today. The athlete covered the 800 m distance in 1 minute 57.96 seconds, so the previous personal record (1 minute 58.69 seconds) was held for only one and a half months. The result demonstrated in the semi-finals allowed him to take the 12th place in the championship. Eight participants made it to the final, the last to qualify resulted in 1 minute 57.62 seconds.
“I really wouldn’t have thought that I wouldn’t make it to the final with 1:57 minutes. My coach and I saw that I was in good shape and could run in less than 1:58 minutes. We really hoped that this would be enough. It’s a pity, but this is my fourth start, so 1:57 minutes I can really be happy.
You don’t know how the cards are going to be arranged. Both in the 1500 m run it was unfavorable for me and in this one, but I believed that it was possible to be in the TOP4 and I could get there according to the time. I knew there would be a strong run, but the competitors ran even faster. Running these four times really gave me more experience than in my entire life. I learned to concentrate, enjoy myself and not be too distracted. When you are distracted, you make unnecessary mistakes. I’ve learned to be calm and enjoy what I’m doing. I think it will help me achieve even better results in the future,” said G. Galvydytė about the result in the semi-finals and personal growth.
At her debut World Championships in 2023 in Budapest (Hungary), the athlete participated in the 800 m race and took 29th place (2 minutes 00.79 seconds). According to G. Galvydytė, she was calmer, braver and more confident in Tokyo: “The tactic was to remain as calm as possible. It was fun, I tried to be with my opponents, and when there is a gap – to get closer. I tried to get closer, and they ran away from me. That’s how it turned out. I felt brave in the stadium and it wasn’t that I was standing at the line and being afraid. I enjoyed it, I looked at the audience, the atmosphere. I allowed myself to understand that as a European, this is an extraordinary opportunity to be in the semi-finals and strive for a high result. However, this is the World Championship, so I can’t wait to see what I can do at the European Championships next year.”
The European Athletics Championships will take place in mid-August 2026. G. Galvydytė, who participated in the 1500 m race at the start of the World Championships, won the 16th place and also remained close to the final. These performances not only add motivation, but also allow you to set even higher goals: “It adds motivation because [before] I didn’t think I could be here. However, I proved that I can. I even proved that I can be in the semi-finals. I train for a high-level team in the USA, which helps me achieve even higher goals. The team members make it to the finals, so my next step is to be in the final.”
This year, G. Galvydytė made her debut at the World and European Indoor Championships, competed in the top division of the European Team Championship and the World Championship. In addition, in winter, he improved the Lithuanian indoor records of 800 m, 1500 m and one mile. Today’s result brought the athlete even closer to the Lithuanian 800 m race record, which has belonged to Dalia Matusevičienė since 1988 (1 minute 56.70 seconds).
G. Galvydytė, who has accelerated by more than a second in the 800 m race since last year, said that 2025 is the most successful in her career: “1 minute 57.96 seconds. – A really high result. Last year I ran 1 minute 59.18 seconds. And it was the first time I climbed in two minutes. Now I’m much faster and I’ll be able to think about climbing from 1:57 minutes, which would be close to the Lithuanian record. This year is stronger only because of the improved personality. The results speak for themselves. I think I surprised a lot of people by running two races and getting to two semi-finals. This is a good result, which shows that I am not a one-time runner who runs fast and ends there. I can show my stability.”
The runner, who will stay in Tokyo until the end of the championship, will first celebrate her performance and then support the discus throwers: “I told Justin Beržanskis that now we are going to McDonald’s to celebrate, because I haven’t enjoyed fast food restaurants for a while. I will be able to watch our discus throwers with peace of mind and I believe that they can make such a small but wonderful country famous – Lithuania.”
The men’s discus throw qualification will take place on Saturday early in the morning. Mykolas Alekna, Martynas Alekna and Andrius Gudžius will participate in it. The discus throw final will take place on Sunday at 2:10 p.m. Lithuania is represented by 11 track and field athletes at the World Championships. The Planet Championships in the Far East take place on September 13-21, and the competition is broadcast live by LRT and the portal Eurovision Sport.
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Photo by Alfredas Pliadis
