In the single kayak competition, three members of the Lithuanian national team lined up at the starting line. They took all the prize places. Simonas Maldonis became the Lithuanian champion, completing the 500 m distance in 1 min. 39.642 sec.
The second place finisher, another Olympian Andrejus Olijnikas, lost to the winner by only 0.084 sec. Viktoras Čaplinskis, who won bronze, was 0.767 sec behind the champion.
“There is always huge competition in the single kayak races and every time you don’t know if you will be first, second, or third. Today I managed to win, but just millimeters separated me from my colleague Andrejus. Viktoras was also very close and the fight went to the last centimeters,” said the champion S. Maldonis.
A fierce battle also took place in the single canoe competition, where the gold was contested by Lithuanian national team members Henrikas Žustautas and Vadimas Korobovas, who usually paddle together in doubles. The Lithuanian champion title was won by H. Žustautas, who completed the distance in 1 min. 47.884 sec.
Silver medalist V. Korobovas lost to the winner by only 0.719 sec. Adas Stefanovičius finished third, 5.216 sec behind the champion.
“We also started in the single races because such solid prizes are not awarded every year. This year I started in singles for the first time and it was a very good training. Last year Vadimas won, this year it was my turn. It often happens that one or the other wins the single races,” said H. Žustautas.
Prizes established by the “EMSI” gas station network – 1000 euros for first and second places – were also contested in the women’s single races.
The winner of the single kayak event was Liucija Railaitė, who completed the distance in 2 min. 2.051 sec. Rasa Vaičikonytė, who took second place, lost to the champion by 2.315 sec. Bronze went to Liucija Mitkutė (2 min. 6.214 sec.)
In the single canoe event, Vanesa Mėlinauskaitė triumphed confidently, finishing in 2 min. 16.107 sec. Runner-up Rūta Marozaitė lost to the winner by 5.904 sec. The bronze medal went to Gabrielė Baltrušaitytė (2 min. 26.076 sec.).
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Dramatic finishes were not lacking in the doubles competitions either. In the double kayak event, Lithuanian champions S. Maldonis and A. Olijnikas completed the distance in 1 min. 30.623 sec. and beat their closest pursuers by just 0.021 sec. Silver went to Artūras Seja and V. Čaplinskis.
In the double canoe event, gold was won by H. Žustautas and V. Korobovas. The champions crossed the finish line in 1 min. 42.445 sec. Second place went to brothers Danielius and Dovydas Gauriai, who reached the final of the European Youth Championship a week ago. The twins lost to the champions by 2.571 sec.
In the women’s double kayak competition, gold was won by Rasa Vaičikonytė and Liucija Railaitė (1 min. 56.17 sec.). The champions beat the crew of Kamilė Railaitė and Kamilė Čiškauskaitė, who finished second, by 1.885 sec. In the double canoe event, the champions were convincingly Gabrielė Baltrušaitytė and Gabrielė Čerepokaitė (2 min. 12.644 sec.).
Three sets of medals were awarded in the four-person competitions. The Lithuanian national team members Ignas Navakauskas, V. Čaplinskis, S. Maldonis, and A. Seja became champions in the four-person kayak event. The champions completed the distance in 1 min. 23.488 sec. and beat their closest pursuers by 2.013 sec.
In the four-person canoe competition, Lukas Kybartas, Adas Stefanovič, and Dovydas and Danielius Gauriai were unbeatable. The gold-winning four finished in 1 min. 39.871 sec.
In the women’s four-person kayak competition, gold was won by K. Railaitė, R. Vaičikonytė, L. Railaitė, and K. Čiškauskaitė, who completed the distance in 1 min. 50.72 sec.
On Sunday in Trakai, kayakers and canoeists will share medals in the shortest 200 m distance.
