“I’m very happy, I can’t believe I finally made it to the final. I thought I was running tenth, but when I heard I was ninth, I cried after finishing, knelt down and couldn’t believe it, even now tears are welling up,” M. Rutkauskaitė said immediately after the finish.
Read more Emmanuel Macron: France will recover after the fires
In the A semi-final, the Lithuanian representative took only 15th place, was eighth in the obstacle course, fifth in swimming, and started from 7th position in the final running and shooting event. In the last lap, M. Rutkauskaitė thought she had dropped to tenth place and only realized in the final straight that she had secured the last of the 9 tickets to the final.
“I tried very hard this season, I’m glad I didn’t have any injuries. However, the season was not the best, I didn’t succeed in competitions as I would have liked. A few weeks ago, at the championship in Barcelona, I didn’t even make it to the final, it was very sad, but I told the coach that I would try my best at the World Championship. I am very happy that I will be able to represent Lithuania in the final,” M. Rutkauskaitė fulfilled her promise.
On Monday, G. Pečiulytė, who trains with M. Rutkauskaitė, will also be among the 18 finalists. In the B semi-final, our country’s pentathlete took 7th place.
Read more Football community lost Algirdas Klimkevičius – President expressed condolences
“Inside, I wasn’t sure I would make it to the final, but I saw that I was running well, I tried to enjoy the moment. This, along with the support of my parents and loved ones, helped me reach the final. It’s great that it worked out,” G. Pečiulytė rejoiced.
Tomorrow, the boys’ (U22) semi-finals will take place, with Liutauras Valeika representing Lithuania in one of them. 8 representatives from our country will compete in the girls’ (U17) qualification competitions.
