On Friday, the Lithuanian Athletics Championships began in the renovated stadium in Palanga. On the first day of the competition, the victories were won by Lithuanian record holders Simas Bertašius, Modesta Justė Morauskaitė, and in the high jump sector, the Baikščiai family reigned supreme – both Urtė and Juozas became champions.
S. Bertašius, who started in his main event, ran the 1500 m distance in 3 minutes 46.23 seconds. This is already the tenth gold medal in this event in a row and the 39th in the Lithuanian championships overall. The national record of the 1500 m race also belongs to the gold medal holder (3 min. 37.19 sec.).
“I felt average, but it’s nice that I managed to win. It’s nice that Giedrius Valinčius came back from America and so well integrated into the Lithuanian running community and posed a serious challenge. I can’t relax and I have to be as focused as possible,” said S. Bertašius after the triumph.
On Saturday, the athlete will contribute to an extraordinary event – the Sportland 400 m run for children. According to S. Bertašius, it is important to set an example for the younger generation: “It is very important to organize such runs if we want those records we have achieved not to become long-standing, but the results to rise and we will be competitive in the world. We need to show the younger generation how fun and beautiful it is. I myself had nieces who came to the Cosma Cup competition, so they look at the stadium as a big playground. I would urge parents to bring their children, register them boldly, and run away together. It will be an incentive for them to play sports.”
Although we will see the Lithuanian record holder start in the 800 m distance on Saturday, S. Bertašius’ starts in longer distances are not uncommon. According to the athlete, he will tame 3000 m, 5000 m or even longer distances sooner or later: “It’s a very good feeling to start in several distances. On July 12, I ran 3000 m and managed to improve the old Lithuanian record, so I think I will tame those longer distances. After this championship, I will start in the 5000 m distance.”
In the 400 m race, M. J. Morauskaitė defended the title of champion, who won this distance for the fifth time and the third time in a row. The Olympian covered the distance in 53.15 seconds, and the fastest this summer season the sprinter ran in 52.30 seconds. Since 2022, the athlete has also held the Lithuanian record (50.49 seconds).
“I rate the performance averagely. This season I have run in less than 53 seconds, so I know that I can do more. I go back to the fact that less than 4 months ago I was lying on the operating table. I can’t bother and I’m glad I was able to defend the championship title. I ran without pain, I enjoyed the competition and I consider it a great victory,” M. J. Morauskaitė reviewed the result.
For the second time in the high jump competition, J. Baikštys became the Lithuanian champion. The track and field athlete was the only one to overcome a height of 2.19 m, and this result was enough for the victory: “I felt good. The coating is super and I thought I would dance more. I was not able to achieve the results I expected. Still, it was a good competition with a fun audience.”
Although he managed to demonstrate the second best result of the season, the athlete does not have any hopes of making it to the World Championships: “At the beginning of the season, I didn’t imagine that it was possible. A week or two ago, Urtė said that there were chances. Of course, in order to get in, you had to jump higher today.”
The high jumper’s sister U. Baikštytė became the national champion for the third time. The athlete overcame a height of 1.80 m and decided not to continue the competition due to the pains she suffered. However, the main goal was achieved, and the response to the renovated stadium was excellent: “The goal was to win, we managed to achieve it. I decided not to continue the competition because I have pain. There is no point in tearing yourself apart. The coating is new and good for jumping, it feels unreal. It’s nice to come back to the Lithuanian championship.”
In the 100 m sprint, the gold medals were won by Ema Rupšytė (11.37 seconds, Lithuanian 19-year-old record) and Kristupas Seikauskas (10.77 seconds). The victory in the javelin throw event was won by Liveta Jasiūnaitė (58.77 m) and Edis Matusevičius (81.09 m).
In the 400 m distance, Tomas Keršulis became the Lithuanian champion (46.94 seconds), Vaida Žūsinaitė-Nekriošienė won the 1500 m race (4 min. 27.86 sec.), and in the 10000 m distance Mindaugas Balčiauskis (30 min. 45.03 sec.) was uncatchable.
In the triple jump sector, the victory was celebrated by Gustas Griška (15.11 m), while in the hammer throw sector the gold medals were won by Kamilė Šauklytė (43.36 m) and Tomas Vasiliauskas (67.20 m).
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Photo by Alfredas Pliadis
