The penultimate weekend of spring was full of memorable achievements for the athletics community. They were written by both experienced athletes, including the multiple Lithuanian record holder, Olympian Gabija Galvydytė, and the country’s rising stars.
On May 23, the runner G . Galvydytė , who is training across the Atlantic, completed the 1500 m in 4 minutes 00.41 seconds in the second stage of the Diamond League in Xiamen (China). and took 7th place. For entering the 8th place, the Lithuanian received 2 league points and a prize of 1500 US dollars. Among other things, G. Galvydytė was the fastest among Europeans in this run. Exactly a week ago, the multiple Lithuanian record holder made her debut in the Diamond League in the next round in China (Shanghai). There, she ran the same distance in 3 minutes 59.74 seconds, improved the Lithuanian record and became the first Lithuanian to overcome 1500 m in less than 4 minutes. However, the 11th place did not bring any qualifying points.
Also on May 23, the European 10000 m Running Cup competition took place in Specia (Italy), and both representatives of Lithuania performed well in it. Vaida Žūsinaitė-Nekriošienė covered the distance in 34 minutes 33 seconds, improved her personal record and took 9th place among 23 runners in the women’s B final. In the overall standings, her time was 37 out of 53. In the men’s A final, Giedrius Valinčius ran 25 laps of the stadium in 28 minutes 44.68 seconds, improved his personal record and took 13th place among 54 participants. In addition, the track and field athlete rose from 10th place to sixth place in the Lithuanian all-time lists of this distance.
As many as 7 runners took part in the World Athletics Continental Tour bronze competition “IFAM Outdoor” held in Brussels (Belgium) over the weekend. There, the multiple Lithuanian record holder Simas Bertašius improved his personal result of the 5000 m run in the stadium – 13 minutes 34.06 seconds. At that time, the young runner Simona Šlapšinskaitė completed the 400 m in 56.92 seconds. and fulfilled the norm for the European U18 Championship in Rietis (Italy).
At the Talsi Cup competition in Latvia, Augustė Virbalaitė threw the javelin 50.63 m, improved her personal record and took third place. She became the eleventh Lithuanian javelin thrower to cross the 50 m mark.
An even greater abundance of personal records was recorded on May 22-24. SELL Student Games held in Riga. Lithuanian track and field athletes won 20 out of 28 events. One of the most resounding achievements was the victory of the multiple Lithuanian pole vault record holder Rugilė Miklyčiūtė in the 400 m run. The track and field athlete won the distance in 55.30 seconds.
In the competition “Trakai Song Running Cup” in Trakai, the Lithuanian 13-year-old record was set – it was improved by Skaistė Michejevaitė, who completed the 1000 m in 2 minutes 59.20 seconds.
Congratulations to all athletes and their coaches!
In the photo – S. Šlapšinskaitė, G. Valinčius and V. Žūsinaitė-Nekriošienė, S. Michejevaitė
