The strongest Lithuanian diving representatives competed at the national championship in Vilnius over the weekend. In the Lazdynai swimming pool of the capital, the athletes did not only find out what is currently happening
the strongest, but also tested their strength before the most important international starts.
Urtė Valeišaitė from Vilnius won a gold medal in the girls' diving from 1 m springboard. The judges scored her performance 199,90 points
U. Valeišaitė, who defended the champion title won last year, was happy with her performance in her main event, although she had some reproaches for herself.
"I think I jumped quite well. Unfortunately, a couple of jumps failed from the 1m springboard, but I am satisfied with the others. The program from the tower was quite stable. I'm happy because you had to learn the jumps quickly," she said.
In the tower event, the athlete took second place (163,80), and Vita Šlajūtė from Vilnius also became the champion here. She was also first in the 3m springboard event, where she scored a total of 213,30 points.
"I know I could have done better. Although I took first place in the 3m springboard, I still think I could have done better. There are jumps that I feel a little sorry for, but I'm glad that the results are still very good," said the athlete after stepping down from the podium.
The young jumper, together with two other Lithuanians, is currently preparing to participate in the European Games. According to the interviewed athletes, now is a tense period for the team - everyone works a lot and hard and wants to prepare as best as possible for the upcoming competitions. "I'm making a lot of effort, I'm really trying hard. Of course, there is excitement, there is stress. I'm really afraid
this start, I have never participated in a competition of this rank. I don't know, I hope I do well. I hope for the best", said V. Šlajūtė.
Significantly changed training conditions also contribute to more successful preparation. Athletes were happy to have the opportunity to perform many more jumps from different devices during training in the Lazdynai pool than before. "I really like training in the Lazdynai pool. I immediately noticed that there was more motivation and a desire to do sports, to do more complex jumps. It is psychologically easier to perform jumps in such a spacious pool than when you are squeezed in a small space, U. Valeišaitė shared her training impressions.
– This sport requires a lot of determination, you have to get over yourself when you are afraid or lack desire. You need to be stubborn and hope for the best, but physical preparation is just as important." She was seconded by V. Šlajūtė: "Honestly, this pool is amazing. We used to go abroad to train in a pool of this level. Now that we have the conditions, we can make the most of it. We also have an air hole, and many trampolines, and a hall, although not yet fully equipped for jumping. I'm very happy with this pool and the fact that it's being built while I'm still playing sports."
Martynas Lisauskas from Vilnius confidently performed in the men's diving from 1 m springboard. The World Junior Championship finalist scored a total of 330,95 points
and won a gold medal. He was also first in the event of jumping from the tower, where the judges awarded 306,60 points for the athlete's program. "Since we practice less on the tower, the first day of the competition was more difficult, but I performed quite well. There was only one bad jump in the 1m springboard event, but we were already tired after the tower jumps.
And on the second day of the competition, all my muscles hurt, but, I would say, not bad at all", the champion evaluated his performance. M. Lisauskas finished the competition by adding a couple more to the two gold medals. The athlete won the men's diving from 3 m springboard event, where he scored 324,05 points, and took first place in the team event together with Milda Jurevičiūta from Kaunas (218,20).
The young athlete also praised the new training base and was excited about the opportunities to improve before the upcoming European Games and the upcoming World Championship, which
will be held together with Sebastian Konecki from Vilnius. The latter could not start in this national championship due to an injury, but took the judge's chair and evaluated the performances of the participants.
"We are preparing hard for the European Games, we are training, we are working from the last minute. It is very happy and fun that there are finally such quality conditions that we can improve. 3m springboard is an Olympic event, so we will emphasize it more at the European Games. We'll see how it goes. And in the world championship, we will pay the most attention to synchronized jumps. We will see how Sebastian manages to recover from the injury", said M. Lisauskas.
The organizers of the competition thank the sponsors of the championship "Orivego" and "Mantinga" for the gifts for the participants.
LTU Aquatics reminds that the European Games will be held in the neighboring region from June 21 to July 2 in Poland, and the diving program (European Championship) is scheduled for June 22-28.
The winners of the individual events of diving from 3 m springboards and 10 m tower will earn tickets for their represented countries to next year's Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
