On Friday evening, track and field athlete Simas Bertašius broke another Lithuanian record – the third in less than two months. This time, the country’s best middle-distance runner successfully stormed the 1000 m distance. Chebe (Czech Republic), in the World Athletics continental tour, the Lithuanian covered the distance in 2 minutes 19.46 seconds.
This result allowed her to take second place in the competition. The winner was the runner from Kenya Dominic Kiptoo Barngetuny (2 min. 18.81 sec.). The previous Lithuanian record for the 1000 m event from 2024 belonged to S. Bertašius (2 minutes 19.72 seconds).
According to S. Bertašius, a record in this competition could be expected: “According to the training with the coach, we saw that the sports form was constantly improving, so I really wanted the competition and was constantly looking for it. Of course, ideally, I wanted to finish the season with a distance of 1500 m, but I found 1000 m. All things considered, it’s really realistic to run even faster, maybe around 2:17, but that would require better conditions.”
In mid-July, in Watford (Great Britain), the athlete improved the 3000 m record (7 minutes 42.07 seconds), which had not been touched for many years, and in mid-August in Leuven (Belgium) the 1500 m national record (3 minutes 36.88 seconds) fell. In addition to the impressive achievements already mentioned, S. Bertašius has held the Lithuanian record of 1 mile (3 minutes 59.25 seconds) since 2020, and since 2022 – the record of 1500 m indoors (3 minutes 38.32 seconds).
In the 2025 season, the track and field athlete tried the 10 km distance (29 minutes 56 seconds), represented Lithuania in the highest division of the European Team Championship and became the national champion for the 40th time. Although he did not make it to the World Championship, S. Bertašius does not hide the fact that he did not have high hopes of starting in Tokyo (Japan): “There was a lot missing. I’ll admit, I didn’t follow the general situation very much. The recipe is clear – you need a lot of high-ranking competitions, you need to improve your personal achievements very strongly, then there will be a ticket to the championship. The level of running in the world is rising rapidly, I don’t really keep up with it, even though I’m running over my head.”
We invite you to read more thoughts from the Lithuanian record holder about versatility, goals in competitions and this year’s entire season.
– Did you go to this competition hoping for a record?, lengvoji.lt asked S. Bertašius.
– Definitely! After training with the coach, we saw that my athletic form was getting better and better, so I really wanted to compete and was constantly looking for it. Of course, ideally, I wanted to finish the season with a distance of 1500 m, but I found 1000 m. All things considered, it’s really realistic to run even faster, maybe around 2:17, but that would require better conditions. These wishes will have to be postponed until next year.
– It’s not the first time you’ve improved Lithuania’s record, but you can’t win the competition. If I had to choose, would it be a victory or a record?
– Normative (laughs). And seriously, you always want everything, but each competition is a separate story. This time, 2 capable athletes from Kenya and Burundi ran together. I felt that they wanted a victory, not a result. I wanted a result, so I ran more boldly, dictated the pace, didn’t think about any tactics. This is what led to me losing the leading position on the finish line, but I come back with a record.
– This summer you improved three Lithuanian records. Which brings you the most joy?
– 3000 m. It all came together – I won the competition, improved the record, and the result itself was quite high. It will be interesting to see how it will go during the winter season, because it is indoors that this distance is in the programs of various championships. There is something to strive for. At the same time, it was proof to myself that I can successfully run longer distances and reasonably think about moving to the 5000 m race. Of course, the 1500 m record was very happy. A very long time ago I wanted to see the numbers 3:36 next to my last name in the minutes. But the coach says that this is not the limit and I believe in him very much.
– This year you started in various races (from 800 m to 10 km). Can such versatility be expected from you in the future?
– What works for everything is not suitable for anyone (laughs). I ran various distances, but my coach and I look at them as an auxiliary race in preparation for our main starts. At the same time, it is also psychological rest, diversification of routine. But in the near future, I would like to “settle” more in the 5000 m distance.
– Probably one of the goals this year was to participate in the World Cup. How much was missing and how many hopes did you cherish to get there?
– A lot was missing. I’ll admit, I didn’t follow the general situation very much. The recipe is clear – you need a lot of high-ranking competitions, you need to improve your personal achievements very strongly, then there will be a ticket to the championship. The level of running in the world is rising rapidly, I don’t really keep up with it, even though I am running over my head. But at the same time, we can be happy that we have Gabija Galvydytė, who is among the world’s elite of medium-range ranges and proves to us that everything is possible.
– You finished the 2025 competition season with the Lithuanian record. What grade would you write for yourself and why?
– 8. I couldn’t write a higher grade, because I performed quite poorly in the European Team Championship in Madrid and didn’t qualify for the World Cup. But personally, the season was really good – there were records, a lot of prize places in higher-ranking competitions. And again I finish the season only because there are no more competitions, not because I want to rest. I have to be grateful to my coaches for being able to maintain such a good balance and make us wait for the new season as soon as the previous one ends.
lengvoji.lt
Photo by Alfredas Pliadis
