The Lithuanian athletics community has received good news – in 2019. At the European Cross Country Championships in Portugal , the mixed relay 4x1500m (Eglė Balčiūnaitė, Loreta Kančytė, Simas Bertašius, Benediktas Mickus) took the prestigious 8th place. Although for many years it was believed that the 9th place had been won, the Belarusian runner Katsiaryna Karneyenko was disqualified due to prohibited preparations. The team of this country took the 2nd place that time, so Lithuania finally climbed a step up.

Team Captain Coach Mindaugas Krakys says he is happy with the triumphant justice.

“It was really unfortunate that we were a hair’s breadth away from the top eight. This news seemed to fulfill that little dream. In addition, it proved once again that the use of doping will still come to light one day,” says the coach and adds that he hopes to put together such a successful (or even more successful) relay team again in the future.

This year’s European Cross Country Championship will take place in less than a month – December 14 Portugal . There, among other runners, Lithuania will be represented by S. Bertašius, a member of this historic relay team.