The Lithuanian Championship ended with a bang in Palanga – on its last day, perhaps the most applause from the audience was received by Gabija Galvydytė’s show in the 800 m distance, shining across the Atlantic. He was not at all beaten by the triumph of Simas Bertašius , who outpaced his competitors by a lap, in the 5000 m run, and this time Dovilė Kilty celebrated victory in the eternal battle of the country’s best triple jumpers.

Without competition

One of the country’s most prominent track and field athletes, G. Galvydytė, became the Lithuanian 800 m running champion for the seventh consecutive year. She completed the distance in 2 minutes 0.70 seconds. – 13.20 sec. faster than Eglė Vaitulevičiūtė, who finished in second place. Gabija admitted that it was difficult to show her full potential without close competition.

“I rate the start as neither bad nor good – average. When you run alone, sometimes it’s hard to squeeze out everything you can. It’s a bit of a pity because I know the form is definitely there and I want to run fast. Today, the main goal was probably to win and give what I can. I managed to win and run in about two minutes,” said G. Galvydytė.

The runner, who rarely competes in Lithuania, was pleased with the support she received at the Palanga stadium. “Since it’s a bit harder to find competition on the track, support is very important to me. You can definitely feel it in the final meters, and personally, it really helps me run,” said the Lithuanian champion.

Having met two qualifying standards for the European Championships taking place in Birmingham from August 10 to 16, the runner decided to compete in both events – the 800 and 1500 m – and before the main season start, she will remain training in Palanga with coach Justinas Beržanskis. “We considered it and ultimately decided to run both events. Because of that, a few days ago in Palanga, we chose to run the 400 meters – we wanted to try something different because there are quite a few starts ahead at the European Championships. Now the most important thing will be to rest, reduce the load, and prepare at full capacity,” the athlete explained.

44th gold

Still awaiting the final results of the European Championship qualifiers, S. Bertašius won two gold medals in Palanga – on Friday he triumphed in the 1500 m and on Sunday in the 5000 m distance. The athlete completed the latter in 13 minutes 47.42 seconds. and overtook his closest rival Erik Černiavski by more than a minute. The latest gold medal is already the 44th in a row. When asked how he evaluates today’s run, S. Bertašius spoke similarly to G. Galvydytė.

“I have mixed feelings – I felt a lot of support from the spectators both before the start and during the run, so it’s a bit frustrating that the spectators can’t show what I demonstrate abroad when there is fierce competition, pacemakers (ed.). pace controllers). I feel somewhat disappointed by the people who expected a higher result. Still, considering all the circumstances objectively, I am satisfied that I can run alone with a result I once could only dream of. I truly feel that with better competition I can run close to 13 minutes 20 seconds,” the athlete shared his expectations.

Sweet Top Ten

Meanwhile, D. Kilty dominated the triple jump sector on Sunday. She flew 13.76 m on her most successful attempt. Silver was won by Diana Zagainova (13.40 m), and bronze by Aina Grikšaitė (13.18 m). For the jumper living and training in England, this is already her tenth gold medal at the summer Lithuanian championships, and she has triumphed nine more times indoors.

Speaking about today’s competitions, the athlete did not say much. “I rate it very highly. Still, I won the championship, so everything is fine, we are moving forward. I am satisfied with the result,” said D. Kilty.

She was also pleased with the support she received at the Palanga stadium. “It’s very enjoyable; relatives, friends, athletes gather. It’s always very pleasant to participate in Lithuania; the emotions here are the best,” the triple jumper smiled.

D. Kilty will now return to England and continue his preparation for the European Championship, where he is expected to qualify based on the ranking. “There is little time left, we will intensify our training sessions, and I think everything will be fine. I want to show what I am truly prepared for this season. “The expectations are the highest,” said the titled jumper.

On Sunday in Palanga, twelve more track and field athletes adorned themselves with gold:

200 m – Gediminas Truskauskas (20.64 sec.) and Lukrecija Sabaitytė (23.44 sec);

800 m – Giedrius Valinčius (1 min 53.00 sec);

400 m hurdles – Lukas Šermukšnis (51.98 sec) and Ugnė Noreikaitė (1 min 1.58 sec);

5000 m – Auksė Linkutė (17 min 19.06 sec);

Pole vault – Osvaldas Gedrimas (4.80 m);

shot put – Simonas Bakanas (17.45 m) and Ieva Gumbs (16.42 m);

4×400 m men – COSMA team: Gediminas Truskauskas, Lukas Šermukšnis, Edvardas Aukštuolis, Lukas Sutkus (3 min 9.44 sec – Lithuanian championship record);

4×400 m women – Kaunas team: Samanta Liebaitė, Liepa Urbutytė, Reda Teteriukovė, Marija Šarkauskaitė (3 min 55.48 sec);

Heptathlon – Greta Urbonavičiūtė (4689 points).

The highest points in the championship were scored by Kaunas “Startas” (89,614), Sostinės SC (37,052), and Šiauliai LASC (34,148).

Photo by Alfredas Pliadis