On Saturday, in the renovated Palanga Stadium, the athletes showed more impressive results than each other. At practically identical time, Lithuanian record holder Gabija Galvydytė made a career performance, and Mykolas Alekna made the fourth best throw of her career. Soon Simas Bertašius recorded a hard-to-comprehend achievement – the middle-distance runner became the Lithuanian champion for the 40th time.
On July 11, G. Galvydytė fulfilled the World Championship 1500 m norm when she covered the distance in 4 minutes 00.71 seconds. This result is much better than the previous personal record of the Olympian, and the national record was very close to it. Now in Palanga, the athlete once again forced her to grab not only herself, but also the spectators, because she managed to overcome the 800 m distance in 1 minute 58.69 seconds. This is not only a new personal record, but also an improved record of the Lithuanian championships, and most importantly, that another World Championship standard has been met.
“The applause and support at the end of the distance added a lot of strength to me. I know that form exists, but I didn’t believe that I could run alone. It is still difficult when no one is breathing behind them. The spectators really helped a lot today.
I did a very good job and expected very good results, but so far I haven’t been able to run in a good 800 m run, where I feel like I gave everything. It means a lot to me. The young self would be happy to see where I am now. I want to thank the coaches, the federation and the spectators for their support,” said G. Galvydytė, who will be seen in two games at the World Championships.
The track and field athlete, who won the sixth consecutive gold medal in this distance at the Lithuanian Championships, will start at the World Championships on September 13-21. We remind you that the world championships will take place in Tokyo (Japan), and M. Alekna also has a direct ticket to the championship. The latter became the Lithuanian champion for the third time on Saturday, and his discus flew as much as 72.15 m (72.15-x-69.97-67.74-69.75-70.93). Martynas Alekna , who took the second place, threw the tool in 66.01 m, and the bronze medal was won by Andrius Gudžius (65.35 m).
“Wonderful emotions. It’s a lot of fun to be here. Last year we had to miss the Lithuanian championship, and this year it was a lot of fun here. I would like to thank all the athletics fans who came. The support was very good. It is easier to give up on such support. I couldn’t even think that it could be better,” M. Alekna thanked the fans after the match. During the discus throw competition, the stadium stands were completely packed.
Soon, the world record holder will continue his preparations for the World Championship, which will be the third for M. Alekna. In 2022, the Lithuanian won silver, and in 2023 – bronze.
“Now we will have a training camp in Palanga, where I will train for a few weeks. We will try to improve that form even more and prepare for the World Cup. The mood is good and self-confidence is higher this season than before. I feel very confident in myself and I can’t wait to participate in the World Championships,” said the vice-champion of the Olympic Games.
S. Bertašius, who became the Lithuanian 1500 m running champion on Friday, faced a new challenge on Saturday. The Lithuanian record holder triumphed in the 800 m race for the fourth time in a row, and managed to cover the distance in 1 minute 51.12 seconds.
“He didn’t feel tired, everything was fine. The emotions are good. While waiting for the start, we heard Mykolas’ result, later we watched Gabija run, so those emotions were raised to the ceiling. My result is not impressive, but I ran with a specific goal to win. It’s nice that the opponents also offered a good fight. I think the audience was interested in watching. You can hear everyone’s applause and shouts, a lot of people gathered, it’s very nice that we are not the only ones interested in athletics,” S. Bertašius reviewed his performance and highlighted the support of the audience.
The athlete has become a national champion for the 40th time (20 times in the stadium and 20 times indoors – author’s note) and hopes to continue this streak: “I don’t know how important that number is, but it shows my stability and smart work with the coach. We are entering the category of long-lived athletes. I don’t know how long that series will last, but I don’t promise to give up easily and I promise to fight.”
After just a breather for a moment, the middle-distance runner stood at the starting line again. True, this time the mission was not to become a champion. S. Bertašius, Giedrius Valinčius , who has become the Lithuanian vice-champion 2 times, and G. Galvydytė started in the “Sportland” 400 m run for children. Dozens of children circled the stadium, and a strong message flaunted on all their chests: “I am the future champion!”
According to S. Bertašius, children need to be nurtured, because sooner or later they can enter sports and improve records: “This is our future. It is very important to support, grow and encourage such initiatives.”
On the second day of the Lithuanian Championships, the gold medal was won by Olympian Ieva Gumbs (discus throw – 59.18 m), Gabrielius Gaubša (9 min. 45.54 sec.) and Auksė Linkutė (10 min. 45.06 sec.) triumphed in the 3000 m hurdles, Neda Lasickaitė (13.42 sec.) became the champion of the 100 m hurdles, and Domas Gailevičius (14.97 sec.) became the champion of the 110 m hurdles.
In the long jump, Urtė Kščenavičiūtė (6.15 m) celebrated the victory, and the first place in the ten-event was won by Edgaras Benkunskas (7824 points). In the men’s 4×100 m relay, the champions were the representatives of the Lithuanian national team (Martynas Kolupaila, Kristupas Seikauskas, Kostas Skrabulis, Gediminas Truskauskas – 40.24 seconds), and in the women’s 4×100 m relay, the gold medals were won by the Cosma sprinters (Andrė Ožechauskaitė, Ema Rupšytė, Modesta Justė Morauskaitė, Lukrecija Sabaitytė – 44.87 seconds).
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Photo by Alfredas Pliadis
