On Saturday, three Lithuanians successfully qualified for the discus throw. Mykolas Alekna, Martynas Alekna and Andrius Gudžius competed at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo (Japan). All of them made it to the final, so Lithuania will have three representatives in the final for the first time in the history of the World Championships.
For world and European champion A. Gudis, this is already the sixth world championship and the fifth final in a row. The qualification barrier could not be crossed only at the debut World Championships in Beijing (China), when in 2015 the discus thrower finished 14th. In 2017 in London (Great Britain) A. Gudžius became the champion, in 2019 he qualified 12th in Doha (Qatar), in 2022 he won a bronze medal in Oregon (USA), and in 2023 in Budapest (Hungary) he took 6th place.
In Tokyo, the track and field discus flew 65.18 m (65.18-x-65.05), and this result allowed him to take 9th place in the qualification. 12 athletes made it to the final, the result of the last one to qualify was 64.99 m. The tool launched by Martynas Alekna flew 67.16 m, and Mykolas Alekna threw the discus 65.39 m.
“A historic moment for Lithuania. Three representatives in the World Cup final is very great. It was difficult for me today, because I still mix day and night. After sleeping for an hour today, it was really difficult, but the sector is very good, the weather conditions are good. Just that it’s early in the morning. It was necessary to leave the hotel four hours before the match. There were some things of our own, but there are three of us in the final, so there is nothing to complain about. The final is in the evening, now we have almost two days to recover. Today it was not necessary to lose the result, but to get into the TOP12. Daniel [Stahl’s] 69.90 m or the German’s 64.99 means absolutely nothing. Tomorrow it will be all over again. We will see completely different moods and eyes,” A. Gudžius shared his thoughts.
The most experienced member of the Lithuanian track and field team spoke about the responsibility, goals and a little love for competitions in Asia: “Don’t forget that today we all carried a big burden not to disappoint our country and our fans. Qualification is much more difficult than the final. I think a number of athletes will say the same thing. I told the coach that 99 percent of the three Lithuanians will be in the final – if I don’t cut the mushroom. Asia is somehow not my friend. What is the sixth or seventh competition here, it’s the best so far (laughs). I am very satisfied, today the work is done. Both Mykolas and Martynas know what they came here and what they can do, and I have my own goals. I have already implemented the minimum plan, and now we will try to add something else.”
This year, almost all of A. Gudžius’ starts were in Lithuania. The European Team Championship was an exception, when the Olympian, who started in Madrid (Spain), took 5th place. The longest discus of the Lithuanian this year was in Kaunas (66.86 m), and the career record in 2018 was recorded in Stockholm (69.59 m).
The World Cup final will start on Sunday at 2:10 p.m. It will be broadcast live by LRT. Before the upcoming climax of the season, A. Gudžius said that the most important thing now is to rest and deal with stress: “Now you need a massage to restore it to its place, and then eat and sleep. I slept maybe three hours in two days. I feel good in the evening, I also did a workout – a completely different feeling. But in the morning… I have not yet been able to fall asleep at night because of stress. This is my first serious competition abroad, apart from the European Team Championship. I haven’t participated with this company [this year], so I remembered my youth, how my head used to burn before the competition. It was stressful, but I’m glad that I managed to manage and do what everyone expected of me.”
When asked about the predictions of the final, A. Gudžius did not mention speculation. According to him, the results will depend on psychological preparation, and at least 5-6 discus throwers will fight for medals: “There are no predictions from me. Do not forget that there will be an inhuman war of nerves. Here, physical preparation is one thing, but it will depend on what kind of psychological preparation it is. In what order will we be arranged, how many the first athletes will lose. A set of components, it can be anything. Under difficult conditions of participation, it took 65 m for the final. The results are among the highest in history. Tomorrow should be a fierce fight.”
Lithuania is represented by 11 track and field athletes at the World Championships. The Planet Championships in the Far East take place from September 13 to 21.
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Photo by Alfredas Pliadis
