On Sunday, Juozas Baikštys made his debut at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo (Japan). In the high jump qualification, the athlete overcame a height of 2.16 m and took 22nd place in the championship. 13 participants made it to the final, all of them jumped 2.25 m.
The height of 2.16 m obeyed the Lithuanian on the first attempt, and 2.21 m could not be overcome, although the second and third attempts were not far behind. After the race, J. Baikštys was not satisfied with the result, but added that he did not expect a miracle: “2.16 m is how much I jumped in my teenage years. That result really doesn’t satisfy me. For this day, 2.21 m would be the maximum result. I jumped out in August when I gave everything to get here. The form automatically falls and you can’t do anything. 2.21 m was possible, but no more.”
In August, the athlete participated in as many as five competitions. Another start was expected at the beginning of September. During this section, J. Baikštys became the winner four times, once took second place and once remained near the podium.
In the World Championship high jump qualification, the participants failed to smoothly overcome the heights of 2.21 m and 2.25 m. The bar often dropped down, and the competition was repeatedly slowed down by the 400 m qualifying runs.
“The excitement started when we found out that there would be withdrawals 90 minutes before the game. We practiced in another stadium and then traveled through the city to here. In addition, a very high starting height. 2.16 m is very high. I was afraid that I might not record the result, but it didn’t happen. Gianmarco Tamberi jumped poorly all season, it was not surprising, and I don’t know the other results yet,” J. Baikštys commented on the conditions in the championship and the results of the opponents.
J. Baikštys, who participated in the European Championships in 2022 and 2024, did not extol the planet’s priorities much, but emphasized that there is more tension here: “We had to keep flying. Maybe there is more tension, more stars, everyone lives in one hotel. The stadium is big, a lot of people, but there have also been about 70 thousand spectators at the European Championships. People. The fact that there is a World Cup here is what makes the most tension.”
The Lithuanian started this season in mid-June, when he overcame a height of 2.20 m in the Lithuanian Athletics Federation Cup competition and won the victory. Soon the start of the European Team Championship in the top division (2.18 m) was expected, but at that time the athlete had no idea that he could claim a place in the World Championship. At the right moment, Sister Urtė Baikštytė rushed to help. The high jumper breathed hope, and soon words turned into actions – at the beginning of August, J. Baikštys repeated her personal record (2.27 m), later she overcame the height of 2.21 m two more times.
“When the season started, I wasn’t in the best shape and mood. I started participating in competitions and I didn’t dance anything good there. Then my sister started telling me that there were those chances. He began to convince, although I didn’t really believe it. My sister was inspired that these things were possible. Maybe I wouldn’t have participated in so many competitions, maybe I would have started to rest and prepare for the next season, but I pressed, pressed, pressed and we squeezed something. We squeezed everything out in August, and in September there was nothing left,” the jumper said about U. Baikštytė’s influence.
After his debut at the World Championships, J. Baikštys hoped that perhaps in the future it would help him to deal with tension better. The athlete, who spoke about his good experience and lessons, sees the season in a wavy way, but looks at the next year positively: “When I jumped 2.27 m in Belgrade, it was not long before 2.30 m. The details were already in the way there. That one jump, and then a few more, is very good.”
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
