“And now, special guests – the Lithuanian team,” the Paris pool announcer thunderously introduced the four Lithuanians, who themselves have not been diving into the water as often in recent years, as their duties are different.
The Lithuanian national team coaches – Paulius Povilionis, Tadas Duškinas, Giedrius Titenis, and “LTU Aquatics” sports director Robertas Vilkelis lined up on Sunday to swim the 4×50 m freestyle relay.
The Lithuanians were among a group of teams where swimming specialists or enthusiasts from various countries were hidden behind original names: “Bigs Guns,” “Talk talk a lot,” “Last minute team,” and similar.
The Lithuanians who made it to the first swim swam in 1 min. 48.66 sec. and were fourth among six teams in a fluctuating relay, after which they shared impressions jokingly and seriously.
At first, the Lithuanians led when Tadas Duškinas, coach of Kotryna Teterevkova, a former Olympic-level swimmer who still holds the Lithuanian record for 50 m butterfly set in 2019, jumped into the water.
The 32-year-old from Kaunas looked so good in the water that it seemed he could still compete at a serious level.
“No, I wouldn’t get anywhere here. There is some speed, but after 30 meters I wanted to lie down a bit. I tried to hold on, not to let the team down,” smiled T. Duškinas. “The first 25 meters were not bad, but then the lack of sports preparation was felt. Although the genes are good, I try not to get out of shape, usually I jump into the pool maybe once a week.”
After T. Duškinas, the first position was maintained by Giedrius Titenis, a former European and world championship medalist who holds the oldest Lithuanian record, set in 2009, in the 200 m breaststroke distance.
“I made mistakes in preparation,” said the 37-year-old from Anykščiai, who has been working as a coach in Vilnius in recent years, with a serious face. “There were two training sessions yesterday, but only one was needed because fatigue was felt. But it was fun.”
G. Titenis admitted that he himself swims rarely. “Yesterday I swam a kilometer, that was my swim of the year,” said the former swimmer.
The third to jump in the relay was the Lithuanian national team head coach Paulius Povilionis, who hooked his hands like a mill and maintained the team’s lead.
“It was very hard. Not as hard as coaching others, but hard. I don’t know my split result yet, I can’t analyze it,” said the man from Šiauliai, who usually works with the team in Kaunas. “I usually swim only at camps. When the athletes finish training, then I swim.”
The Lithuanian team’s position slipped when Robertas Vilkelis had to take over. The federation’s sports director was not a swimmer in his youth and only started to like swimming during his studies in Kaunas.
“I want to thank the men for leading a bit ahead, so my swim perhaps didn’t seem so slow. I’m glad, I’ve never been a swimmer, so everything is fine,” said R. Vilkelis. “It was fun.
As soon as we received the invitation to participate in the relay, we immediately started preparing, preparing caps, trying on swimsuits, there was a good mood – the last day of a long but fun championship, so it was a good dose of extra emotions for us before Rūta’s final tonight.”
Understand instantly
Rūta Meilutytė, who made it to the final, received encouragement: “If she swims well, she will get a cake”
After the drama in the relay, the Lithuanians praised each other and admitted: “It was already starting to get dark in the eyes”
The European Swimming Championship, held for seven days in Paris, will end on Sunday evening, and the Lithuanians have one last start – Rūta Meilutytė will compete in the 50 m breaststroke final from 19:35 our country’s time.
