A decade of dominance
The competition started with the hammer throw event. There, experienced athlete Tomas Vasiliauskas won his eleventh consecutive LLAF Cup.
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The thrower, undefeated in Lithuania since 2016, this time threw the implement 66.14 m. However, the path to this achievement was not easy – the athlete failed to record a result with his first two throws, so, in his own words, he had to talk to himself. “Today, the technique was completely off, I was somehow slow. I felt something was wrong when I woke up in the morning, but I thought everything would be fine in the sector. After the first unsuccessful throws, I tried to sit down and think about what to fix technically. Finally, I managed to throw as best as I could today,” T. Vasiliauskas shares his competition experience.
Asked if the eleventh LLAF Cup brings as much joy as the first, the athlete doesn’t hesitate. “Not at all. The first victories were much more fun, now I look more at the result than the place taken. If I finished second or third, but managed to throw over 70 meters, improving my personal best – I would be much happier,” the athlete smiles.
Following in the footsteps of the record holder
Unlike T. Vasiliauskas, eighteen-year-old runner Felisitė Feimanaitė celebrated her first LLAF Cup in her career. The young athlete triumphed in the 1500 m race, completing the distance in 4 min. 45.93 sec. and improving her career record. After the start, the young athlete smiled broadly.
“I am really very happy to finally have this title. Although without very strong competition, the run was certainly not easy, it was difficult to lead the entire distance. I’m glad I succeeded,” said the athlete.
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She is coached by experienced runner Justinas Beržanskis, whose proteges include one of today’s most famous Lithuanian athletes, Gabija Galvydytė. The runner, training across the Atlantic, recently broke another national record and became the first athlete in the country to complete the 1500 m in less than 4 minutes. This serves as an example for young athletes. “Gabija’s example is very inspiring. It’s incredibly fun to watch her career in the United States, her American dream,” said F. Feimanaitė.
On the first day of the LLAF Cup competition, the winners of 16 more events were also announced.
Men.
100 m. Martynas Kolupaila – 10.64 sec. (best Lithuanian season result);
400 m. Lukas Sutkus – 47.64 sec. (best Lithuanian season result);
1500 m. Justinas Laurinaitis – 4 min. 11.91 sec.;
110 m h. Edgaras Benkunskas – 14.41 sec. (best Lithuanian season result);
High Jump. Ignas Bitinas 2.05 m;
Long Jump. Ramūnas Kleinauskas – 7.29 m.;
Javelin. Kasparas Bačianskas – 61.02 m.;
4×100 m. Lithuanian national team (Aistis Manton, Martynas Kolupaila, Adas Dambrauskas, Danielius Vasiliauskas) – 42.03 sec. (best Lithuanian season result).
Women.
100 m. Ema Rupšytė – 11.62 sec. By the way, in the qualifying heats, Ieva Šadžiūtė met the standard for the World U20 Championship in Oregon (USA) (11.71 sec.);
400 m. Modesta Justė Morauskaitė – 53.39 sec. (best Lithuanian season result);
100 m h. Gabija Klimukaitė – 13.34 sec. (best Lithuanian season result, personal record);
High Jump. Evelina Bukauskaitė – 1.70 m.;
Long Jump. Urtė Kščenavičiūtė – 6.30 m.;
Hammer. Kamilė Šauklytė – 47.17 m. (best Lithuanian season result);
Javelin. Orinta Navikaitė – 53.39 m.
4×100 m. “Žvaigždės” team (Emilija Celešiūtė, Smiltė Paukštytė, Patricija Grigalionytė, Evelina Savickaitė) – 50.32 sec.
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On Saturday, the competition will start at 12:20 PM.
