On Sunday, the last day of the first division of the European Team Championship took place in Madrid (Spain), at the end of which the winners and the teams leaving the division were revealed. For four days, the Lithuanian athletics team fought honorably against the most capable athletes of the Old Continent, and our team competed in the highest division for the first time. The road to the elite league was won in 2023, when Lithuania won the third place in the second division.

On the last day of the competition, 3 representatives of Lithuania stood out for their performances, which made it to the TOP5. Liveta Jasiūnaitė and Edis Matusevičius , who showed their abilities in the javelin throw event, won the third place, and Gabija Galvydytė finished fifth in the 1500 m running event.

L. Jasiūnaitė, who holds the position of team captain, represented Lithuania in the fifth European Team Championship and recorded the second best result (58.88 m). The spear continued to fly only in 2021 (61.18 m). This time, the Lithuanian who won the third place made five qualifying attempts (58.88-56.75-56.96-56.64-55.73-x) and was second only to the Greek Elina Tzengko (62.23 m) and the second place Polish Maria Andrejczyk (60.42 m).

“The result is not pleasing, but for today I did what I could. It was really brutally hot. Last week I participated at a temperature of +13, and today it was +38, so it is difficult to adapt to such a temperature in a week. With each throw, I lost 10-20 percent of my energy. It was very, very difficult,” said L. Jasiūnaitė, who won 14 points for Lithuania after the game.

It was already the seventh competition of an athlete this year, and according to L. Jasiūnaitė, it was an honor and pleasure to participate here: “At this stage of the season, I feel good at all and I evaluate my form quite well. Today it was just because of the heat that I was all soft, it seemed that my legs and arms were bending. I wouldn’t judge myself by this competition. It is an honour to participate, represent Lithuania and be the captain of the national team. No responsibility, only pleasure.”

Last year, the athlete failed to make it to the finals of the European Championship and Olympic Games, and this year the Lithuanian record holder is in a fighting mood and is looking forward to the World Championships in September. Twelve days ago, L. Jasiūnaitė recorded the best result of the season (62.38 m), and the javelin crossed the 60-meter mark in the competition at the end of May (60.73 m).

“The results speak for themselves. I am determined and ready to change my previous results this season. I will definitely start at the World Championship and be in good shape. There is still a lot of time before the World Championships, so we will work and prepare,” said L. Jasiūnaitė, who is seeking to qualify for the fifth World Championship of her career. The best performance came in 2022 in Oregon (USA), when the track and field athlete took 10th place. We remind you that in 2018, the Lithuanian won the bronze medal at the European Championships.

E. Matusevičius, who started for the second time this year, recorded the best result of the season (78.26 m), won third place in the elite company, but was not satisfied with his performance: “I feel that this was the maximum. Technically, everything was very bad – I was in a hurry, I lacked patience, I didn’t feel my body. Simply tragic. I run and I don’t feel anything. The rhythm is not worked, the running is not worked. That’s how I felt – scattered in all directions.”

The first place in the javelin throw event was taken by the European champion from Germany Julian Weber (85.15 m), and the second place was won by the Ukrainian Artur Felfner (80.54 m) in the fifth throw. It was the eighth European Team Championship for E. Matusevičius, and in his division he managed to get into the top three for the fifth time in a row.

“It’s fun, I gave a lot of points to the team, but it doesn’t make any difference, because we will still return to the second division. With the Ukrainian, we joked that where we came from, we will return there. We will meet him again in the second division. It’s always fun to participate for the team, and since it’s the eighth championship, I’m already here as a veteran,” E. Matusevičius did not hide his smile.

The athlete, who participated on the eve of his birthday, said that the heat did not have much of an impact, and he wanted more energy from the spectators: “It was not so hot in the evening, we had shade, which was not bad at all. I didn’t fully feel the support of the audience and I believed that the applause would contribute more to the result. They supported, helped, but I didn’t feel it in myself.”

In September, E. Matusevičius may start in the fourth World Championship, but the beginning of the season is difficult: “I am going into this year with difficulty, because there is a lot of pain. It was a difficult preparation. The results are very much a reflection of this. I’m still a long way from being a good person. We will try, we will work, a lot more time. I will do what I can, and whether I succeeded, we will see in the championship.”

G. Galvydytė, who competed in the European Team Championship for the second day in a row, covered the 1500 m distance in 4 minutes 10.21 seconds, took fifth place and won 12 points for the team. We remind you that on Saturday, the Lithuanian record holder covered the 800 m distance in 1 minute 59.96 seconds. (the best result of the Lithuanian season) and won the fourth place.

“I am satisfied. I really didn’t feel the best, so I’m very happy that I came and fought. I think the heat has given it its all. Yesterday I didn’t feel like that, and today I felt it in the warm-up,” said the Olympian after the finish.

The first place in the race was taken by the Frenchwoman Agathe Guillemot (4 min. 08.72 sec.), and G. Galvydytė managed to overtake the Italian Marta Zenoni , who was in sixth place (4 min. 10.23 sec.).

“I’m still learning to run the 1500 m, so I appreciate tactical decisions quite well. I am not yet confident in my abilities when I can finish, because as a representative of the 800 m race, I am safe for the last hundred meters. In the 1500 m, you need to start finishing earlier. I fought for that place and wanted to give my all, so I was very, very happy that I was able to catch up and overtake,” said the athlete, who represented Lithuania in the third European Team Championship.

In the first division, the Lithuanians took the 16th place (178.5 points) and were relegated to the second division, where they will compete in two years. The Finns, who finished 15th (220.5 points) and the remaining Ukrainians 14th (231 points), also fell to the second division, while the Italians won for the second time in a row (431.5 points).

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Photo by Alfredas Pliadis