On Saturday, Gabija Galvydytė performed well at the World Athletics Championships. In the 1500 m qualifier, the athlete covered the distance in 4 minutes 02.81 seconds. and took fifth place in his run. Six participants from each run made it to the semi-finals.
“The emotions are good. I’m not going to lie that we believed. With the coach, we saw good athletic form, so we had to run well tactically. We managed to do it,” the athlete was happy after the finish.
Together with G. Galvydytė, the world record holder Faith Kipyegon competed, who won the qualification run (4 min. 02.55 sec.) and also made it to the semi-finals. F. Kipyegon improved the world record this year (3 minutes 48.68 seconds). The Lithuanian said that running with this athlete is an extraordinary experience: “I saw the name and was so surprised. It’s hard to even describe the feeling when you stand next to the world record holder and one of the best runners in history. It’s a very good feeling.”
In the fourth qualifying run, in which G. Galvydytė started, 15 athletes ran. For most of the distance, the Lithuanian stayed in the leading group, and in the finish line she organized a spurt, which allowed her to climb up a few positions and win a ticket to the semifinals.
“The strategy was to run as little distance as possible and close indoors. Six enter, which is a very high probability that that door will eventually open. My coach will be very satisfied with the tactical running. With 300 meters left, I counted and saw that I was seventh, so I need to run closer. The plan was not to overdo it and to be in the top six,” said G. Galvydytė.
The athlete, who entered the championship with a standard, left behind the titled British Laura Muir (4 min. 05.59 sec.). The last time G. Galvydytė, who ran the 1500 m distance in the competition more than two months ago, revealed that during that time she has improved tactically, and the focus in this championship is on this race.
“The improvement took place in a tactical sense. I am registered to run 800 m and 1500 m. If I had wanted to focus on the 800 m, I would have missed the 1500 m race, but this time we really focused more on the 1500 m run. The training sessions were longer, harder and more work had to be done. This is still a new competition for me,” said G. Galvydytė.
The middle-distance runner will start in the 1500 m semi-finals on Sunday at 15:07. In addition, on Thursday, the athlete will qualify for the 800 m race.
The Lithuanian record holder, who came to Tokyo from a long camp in the highlands, revealed that she learned from the past and now tries to be less emotional and better rested: “I had a second camp in the highlands and we really saw that it suited. I was there for a very short time, over four weeks, so I tried not to overdo it, but at the same time to do a good job. Highlands take much more strength than when you are at sea level.
This time I try to leave my emotions aside. I hoped to get in, my form showed that I was in a good place. I trained more on recovery, getting ready for bed, resting, because tomorrow is the next start. It’s a new day, all opponents are equal.”
When asked about her experience in the championship, G. Galvydytė shared her fresh thoughts: “The conditions are definitely not the best. I had to take the bus to the stadium for 10-15 minutes, because their spare stadium is being repaired. The first call to arrive at the place was 50 minutes before the start, so we started the warm-up very early. I had to learn to sit down, concentrate and believe in my body that it would stay warm. Sitting on the bus before the start is not the best thing.”
Lithuania is represented by 11 track and field athletes at the World Championships. The Planet Championships in the Far East take place on September 13-21, and the competition is broadcast live by LRT and the portal Eurovision Sport.
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Photo by Alfredas Pliadis
