Last weekend was exceptional for Lithuanian athletics – three competitions took place over two days, featuring both mass participation and top-level sports. In Vilnius, thousands of runners tested their strength at the “Swedbank Vilnius Marathon,” spectators watched a world-class discus thrower competition at Vingis Stadium, and in Druskininkai, the strongest representatives of the country’s race walking competed for the Lithuanian champions’ medals.
Record-breaking ranks of runners
On Sunday, the streets of the capital were flooded with running enthusiasts – more than 14,000 participants competed in various distances at the “Swedbank Vilnius Marathon .” This is the most in the event’s history. More than 1,500 runners completed the main – marathon – distance. The fastest to run 42.195 km was Kenyan Laban Cheruijot, who finished in 2 hours 19 minutes 27 seconds. In the women’s competition, the winner was Ukrainian Khrystyna Bogomiahkova – 2 hours 52 minutes 44 seconds.
The Lithuanian Marathon Championship was also held alongside the Vilnius Marathon course. The fastest Lithuanian runner was Justinas Čekanauskas, completing the distance in 2 hours 28 minutes 13 seconds. Andrius Jakševičius was adorned with a silver medal (2 hours 38 minutes 15 seconds), and Žydrūnas Stelmokas took bronze (2 hours 43 minutes 15 seconds).
In the women’s category, the Lithuanian champion title was won by Monika Bytautienė, who finished in 2 hours 53 minutes 22 seconds. The silver medal was won by her sister Milda Eimontė, who was only 0.1 seconds behind, while bronze went to Aušra Pilitauskaitė (2 hours 56 minutes 19 seconds).
Nearly 9,000 more participants competed in the half marathon, 10 km, and 5 km distances. The half marathon winners were Latvian Dmitrijs Serjogins (1 hour 07 minutes 51 seconds) and Neringa Songailaitė-Kovarskienė (1 hour 19 minutes 28 seconds). In the 10 km distance, the fastest were Erik Černiavski (32 minutes 15 seconds) and Ukrainian Veronika Kalashnikova (37 minutes 46 seconds), while in the 5 km race they were Lukas Tarasevičius (15 minutes 08 seconds) and Vaida Žūsinaitė-Nekriošienė (16 minutes 56 seconds).
World-class discus throw show
The day before, an equally impressive event took place at the Vingis Park stadium in the capital – a discus throw competition competing for the Vilnius Mayor’s Cup. About 5,000 spectators gathered to see the brightest stars of this event, including representatives of the Alekna dynasty, Mykolas and Martynas Aleknas, Kristjan Čeha, Rojé Stona, and others – an amount this stadium had never seen before.
The winner of the competition was Slovenian K. Čeh, who threw the discus an impressive 72.56 m with his best attempt. This result set a new record for the Vingis Park stadium. The previous record – 70.01 m – had belonged to Olympic champion Virgilijus Alekna since 2007.
K. Čeh improved the record on his very first attempt – the discus flew 70.04 m, and with the second throw, the Slovenian added even more, reaching 72.56 m. In total, he threw the discus beyond 70 meters three times. Second place went to the world record holder My. Aleknai. The Lithuanian achieved a time of 69.30 m on his third attempt. Third place went to Olympic champion Rojé Stona from Jamaica (67.11 m).
These competitions also had a symbolic highlight – the event was opened by the throws of legendary Lithuanian discus throwers V. Alekna and Romas Ubartas. And the return of world-class athletes to Vingis Park recalled the times when, two decades ago, thousands of crowds gathered here to watch V. Alekna’s fights against Gerda Kanter.
Intense racewalking battles
On Saturday, the race walking community gathered in Druskininkai, where the 34th International Race Walking Competition “Druskininkai 2026” and the Lithuanian 10 km Race Walking Championship were held.
Artur Mastianica won the main men’s 10 km event of the Lithuanian Championship. The representative from Vilnius district completed the distance in 43 minutes 27 seconds. Darius Jazepčikas took second place (46 minutes 49 seconds), and Lukas Lasevičius came third (47 minutes 39 seconds).
In the women’s 10 km race, the Lithuanian champion title was won by Austėja Kavaliauskaitė. Her result was 47 minutes 48 seconds. The silver medal was won by Justė Andrijauskaitė (50 minutes 49 seconds), and the bronze by Nadežda Novikova (55 minutes 01 seconds).
Not only adult athletes competed in Druskininkai – young racewalkers and veterans also competed in different distances. In the youth groups, the winners were Libertas Kulieša, Agnieška Makevič, Emils Grandans, Eva Kubiliūtė, Ovidijus Civilka, Gustė Laurinčikaitė, and Sabina Jakubėnaitė, while in the veterans’ competition, the fastest were Antanas Grigaliūnas and Vita Ormane.
Photo by Alfredas Pliadis
