The fourth morning of the European Championship held in Birmingham (UK) brought the Lithuanian team a whole bouquet of different emotions. Sprinter Gediminas Truskauskas qualified for the 200 m and javelin thrower Edis Matusevičius and runner Gabija Galvydytė advanced to the finals of their events. However, this required special effort – Eddie competed in scorching 35-degree and Gabija 800 m She crossed the semifinal barrier only after a protest from the delegation – the runner, caught on her competitor, and fell painfully. The championship was successfully crowned by Modesta Justė Morauskaitė.

Collapse and protest

Multiple Lithuanian record holder G. Galvydytė started the 800 m semifinal with great determination, but just before the final stretch, the star of this event, Audrey Werro, fell under her feet, and G. Galvydytė fell painfully along with her. After lying down for a while, she jumped up and boldly ran toward the finish – the scoreboard lit up at 2 minutes 03.59 seconds. The Lithuanian delegation immediately filed a protest, which was soon accepted, and the athlete was included in the list of finalists taking place on Friday.

Not yet knowing the final decision, G. Galvydytė said she had no doubt she would advance further. “I won’t lie, I would have been surprised if I couldn’t make it to the final. I really tried to avoid falling, I jumped, but it was very hard to do… If I had avoided it, maybe everything would have been different? But it was not in my hands. So I would definitely have been disappointed if the protest had not been satisfactory. Last year at the World Championships in Tokyo, due to the collapse of my opponents, my position was ultimately worse, and I was a bit jealous, but now the Universe has given me some as well,” G. Galvydytė smiled.

The athlete was glad to have avoided a worse outcome. “I lay on the ground for 3–4 seconds and still managed to run within 2 minutes and 3 seconds. I finished almost on my way because the whole tactic was blown out… But I also showed in the selection, where I was first in my run, that I wasn’t here for nothing. I scraped my elbow and hip, but it’s okay – we’ll work with physiotherapists, apply some tips, and everything will be fine,” the athlete laughed.

Poor Birmingham

The country’s most decorated javelin thrower, E. Matusevičius, faced a different challenge – scorching 35-degree heat and a competition held in broad daylight. On the eve of the championship, the slightly ill athlete threw the implement 80.89 cm on his most successful – third – attempt and finished 5th in Group A of the qualifiers. In the later Group B match, only one athlete threw the javelin further, so in the final standings Edis finished sixth and qualified for the final taking place on Saturday.

Not yet knowing the final results, Edis did not hide his doubts. “It could have been better. The conditions were definitely tough. The well-being is complicated too… Somehow, I managed to press 80.89 m, but I don’t know if that’s really enough to qualify for the final. I really hope so. The second group is also strong… “I will go to see and pray,” the athlete said hopefully. His prayers, it is clear, have been fulfilled.

In the elite of sprinters

This morning, sprinter G. Truskauskas , who is participating in his fourth career at the European Championships, had an especially successful start. He completed the 200 m heats in 20.72 seconds. and among 24 participants, he took sixth place. Thirteen runners who participated in the qualifiers advanced to the semifinals, and another twelve will join automatically.

Assessing the start of the championships, the sprinter did not hide his joy and spoke about even greater goals for the semifinal taking place that same evening. “A pleasant run. I definitely felt both my body and everything well. Fun competition, a comfortable track – eighth, not second or third. The goal was to reach the semifinals. Maybe I expected a slightly better result, around 0.10–0.15 seconds, but it is what it is. The most important thing is to achieve the initial goal, and the expectation for the semifinals is a season record. Personal – it would be perfect, a fairy tale, better than good. I don’t want to promise anything for now,” G. Truskauskas smiled.

Smiles did not disappear from the face of runner M. J. Morauskaitė , who had already finished the championship in Birmingham – she finished the 400 m semifinal in 51.72 seconds. and finished 21st in the final standings. Evaluating both her own and her competitors’ results, the sprinter emphasized that the level has recently risen astronomically.

“I rate the championship 10 out of 10. Today’s goal, after yesterday, was to appear as close as possible to yesterday’s result. See if I can demonstrate the same level two days in a row. As we can see, the result is essentially the same; those few hundredths don’t make a very big difference. The girls’ level is like never before. The European teams are running completely in the rhythm of the World Cup. We joke with track and field athletes that results are influenced by “trackflation” – results don’t rise gradually, but the curve jumps upward. It’s both joyful and a very strong kick in the pants,” summarized the runner who participated in the fifth European Championship.

Photo by Alfredas Pliadis