1500m runner Greta Streimikyte set a new European record and collected top spot at the World Para Athletics European Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland yesterday evening.
With a time of 4:29.38 in the women’s T13, the 25-year-old crossed the finish line just over half a second in front of Spain’s Izaskun Oses Ayucar who had a late rally in the home stretch, followed by Russia's Veronika Zotova who placed third.
This cemented a European record for the Clonliffe Harriers athlete, who previously won a gold medal in Berlin in 2018 and also secured a bronze position in 2016 in the same event.
Greta Streimikyte wins the ? in a ?️ edition of the women's 1500m T13!
She clocks down on a European record time of 4:39.28. ?? weather for a an ?? winner.
? Watch live: https://t.co/0iQjxT3bAS
? Schedule & results: https://t.co/t7zfoIgDZP
@Paralympics @ParalympicsIRE pic.twitter.com/JC6tY9gmNs— Para Athletics (@ParaAthletics) June 1, 2021
Speaking after the race, Streimikyte observed that coming into the competition her team knew this “would be great practice for Tokyo” and given the result “it all worked out.”
"The two Russian girls had beaten me in the past a good couple of times so I am delighted that this time I was lucky enough to beat them" she said.
What a proud moment!@streimikyte European champion and European record holder. Amazing!!!
??? #TeamIreland #Bydgoszcz2021 #TheNextLevel pic.twitter.com/q25wSX0d5l— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) June 1, 2021
More Irish superstars are also involved in the Championships, one of which is Mary FitzGerald who’s debut European appearance saw the Kilkenny athlete throw 7:35m to secure a bronze medal this morning in the F40 Shot Put.
The superb performance comes after she set a PB of 7:88m just last weekend.
???Medal Alert???@_MaryFitzG wins bronze for Ireland. Fantastic debut European performance from the Kilkenny Shot Putter. She threw 7:35m with her third throw to comfortably claim the ?.
Well done Mary #TeamIreland #TheNextLevel #Bydgoszcz2021 pic.twitter.com/GfRir7VfTq— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) June 2, 2021
Niamh McCarthy is also set to showcase her talents in the F41 Discus on Saturday at 7:20pm, with the event to be streamed live via the Paralympics Ireland Facebook page.
