“I never even dreamed about this,” admitted the debutant of such a high-level competition, smiling from ear to ear behind the scenes at the Birmingham stadium.
In one of the most technical athletics events, whose popularity has soared in recent years thanks to the endless world records of Armand Duplantis, Lithuania finally has its own entry.
The historic performance of Lithuania’s record holder R. Miklyčiūtė on Tuesday at the “Alexander” stadium started smoothly – clearing heights of 4.10 m, 4.25 m, and 4.40 m one after another on the first attempts.
4.50 m resisted two jumps, and seeing that the current result was already enough for the final, the athlete saved energy – she skipped the last attempt. She placed 8th in the qualification.
Understand instantly
R. Miklyčiūtė in qualification: 4.10m (o) / 4.25m (o) / 4.40m (o) / 4.50 (xxr)
A ticket to the final was guaranteed by 4.55 m or a place among the top twelve.
“It’s very hard to describe the emotions because now I just want to lie down in bed and get a good sleep (smiles). It was hard to fall asleep at night because of the excitement. I was stressed all day. I still can’t believe what we did here with my coach (Rita Sadzevičienė),” rejoiced R. Miklyčiūtė.
– The coach actually does the majority of the work. Without her, I wouldn’t even be here. She is my success talisman. To me, she is like a second mother. We sit down and solve problems, not only sports-related but also personal. I am very happy and wish everyone to have such a coach.”
Qualifying for the European Championship was on R. Miklyčiūtė’s New Year’s wish list: “I fulfilled that wish (smiles). I didn’t even have a point of making it to the final. I exceeded, surpassed my expectations.”
“At the stadium, I struggled with emotions. Every time I stood to jump, it felt like my heart would jump out of my chest… But somehow I managed. I tried not to think about the height, but about the technique. About the fact that I know everything,” shared the Lithuanian record holder.
– The people in the stands – just wow. It didn’t matter if they were Dutch, Lithuanian, or English – they applauded everyone. That was very nice. I would say I managed to tame the stadium, and now I’m waiting for the final (smiles).
Today, I think I will definitely fall asleep deeply. I really want to sleep. I was stressed all day and night… So today I will sleep, and later – we’ll see…”
“Tomorrow I will get up, eat, have a training session, and then go support other Lithuanians,” shared the jumper, adding that she recorded the historic achievement even though she was not completely healthy.
– So I wouldn’t overexert myself (I skipped that last attempt), and I’m already dealing with some injuries… I don’t want to push too hard. Better to save energy for the final and then, as they say, give it my all.”
Multiple Lithuanian champion R. Miklyčiūtė reached her highest height this year when she recorded a 4.57 m result in Finland at the end of June.
This is both R. Miklyčiūtė’s and Lithuania’s record.
The women’s pole vault final will take place on Thursday at 21:50. At the same time, the men’s discus throw final with three Lithuanians will also take place.
