On Friday, the first division of the European Team Championship moved to the Vallehermos stadium in Madrid (Spain), where the best athletes of the Old Continent fought for points. Simas Bertašius , who recorded the second result of his career in the 800 m race, finished 13th, and Tomas Keršulis , who achieved his second result of the season in the 400 m sprint, finished 15th.
Multiple Lithuanian champion S. Bertašius ran the 800 m distance in 1 minute 48.40 seconds, which is the best result of the Lithuanian season. This time he was just 0.29 seconds short of the personal record. The first place in this event was taken by the Spaniard Mohamed Attaoui , who improved the championship record (1 minute 44.01 seconds).
“The result is satisfying, of course, I wanted to move the personal record I set last year, but maybe for that we would just need to practice this distance more. This time I got love from the deduction, because this distance was not in my plans, but since it was a team championship, and the team needed it, it is not difficult for me. Especially since I will have a rest day before the main 1500 m distance. A fun experience and warm-up at this level. There were a lot of Lithuanians, good support was felt throughout the stadium,” said S. Bertašius, who ran the 800 m distance for the first time this year.
The Lithuanian record holder starts in this distance 1-3 times a year, but he does not hide that he likes the race. However, it is not the most suitable for the profile of a runner: “I like it very much, but my running style is not made for this distance. There is no acceleration here, because you have to run from the very first meters. We went through the first lap quite lightly, I was satisfied with that, because I couldn’t do much faster, but for a better result, I would have to be sharper from the beginning. Not only in the middle or at the end of the distance, what I am capable of doing. This is not enough here.”
S. Bertašius, who went on the hunt for points and made a spurt in the last lap, caught up and finally overtook the Ukrainian Vladyslav Finchuk by a few thousandths (1 minute 48.40 seconds): “At the finish, I felt that I was in front. I was hoping that I would be first. The year before last year in Poland, we learned that even half a point is important, so it’s nice that those thousandths didn’t determine my lower position.”
The middle-distance runner has already started 7 times this summer season – once in the 800 m, 5000 m and 10 km distances and 4 times in the 1500 m distance. The Lithuanian was not fully satisfied with the first starts of the season, but at the beginning of June he talked about his growing form, which was soon reflected in the competition. The athlete achieved the best result of the season on June 18 in the Cosma Cup competition, when he covered the 1500 m distance in 3 minutes 39.01 seconds. We remind you that S. Bertašius holds the Lithuanian record for this event (3 min. 37.19 sec.).
“I felt very good in the last competition. As we planned with the coach before the season, the team championship is a priority and form is needed right now. I think that the form is there and it kept growing after the camp in the highlands. I hope that I will be able to run solidly on Sunday and either show a good time, or take a high place,” said S. Bertašius in a combative mood.
T. Keršulis, who came to the European Team Championship directly from the USA, entered the fight against the European elite. For example, the British Samuel Reardon , who triumphed in the 400 m race, improved the championship record (44.60 seconds). The Lithuanian covered the distance in 46.55 seconds, and this year he ran faster only in mid-April (46.26 seconds).
“Not a bad result. I just flew to Europe, so I need to acclimatize. 3 weeks ago I ran much slower (47.63 seconds), so today the result is really good. It’s a pity for the place that it is not high and did not bring many points,” said T. Keršulis, whose performance brought 2 points to Lithuania.
The sprinter, who has already started more than 10 times this summer season, said that he does not feel tired, because he is used to such a load. In addition, after the finish, the athlete emphasized the beastly competition he faced at the European Team Championships: “I am used to starting often because of my studies in the USA. I run many times every summer, and this summer I feel better than last year. The competition is very good, as in the European Championship. It helps you run faster because everyone is running next to you and you want to keep up.”
T. Keršulis, who intends to spend about a month and a half in Lithuania, plans to compete in the World University Games (July 21-27) and the Lithuanian Championship (August 1-3). In 2023, the athlete, who improved the Lithuanian 200 m and 400 m records, competed in both the team championship and the European U23 Championship. True, then the Lithuanian suffered a foot injury that messed up 2024. In the winter of that year, T. Keršulis started in the World Indoor Championships, but missed the summer season.
“That summer, after breaking records, I injured my foot and last year the pain was very great. I rested all summer and returned this year. My foot still hurts a little, but I feel much better than last year. The pain is decreasing and I hope that it will continue to decrease,” said T. Keršulis, who will start in the 4×400 m mixed relay on Sunday.
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.
The competition is broadcast live by the Eurovision Sport portal.
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Photo by Alfredas Pliadis
