Živilė Balčiūnaitė

Živilė Balčiūnaitė

Živilė Balčiūnaitė at the 2010 Golden Spike Ostrava
Personal information
Nationality  Lithuania
Born 3 April 1979 (1979-04-03) (age 32)
Vilnus, Lithuania
Sport
Country Lithuania
Sport Running
Achievements and titles
Regional finals 1st, 2010
National finals 1st. 2000
2nd, 2001, 2009
Medal record
Women's athletics
Competitor for  Lithuania
European Athletics Championships
Gold 2010 Barcelona Marathon

Živilė Balčiūnaitė (born 3 April 1979[1] in Vilnius) is a Lithuanian long-distance runner. Balčiūnaitė won the marathon at the 2010 European Athletics Championship in Barcelona and finished 4th at the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg. Balčiūnaitė was the first Lithuanian athlete who won a medal in a running event and the first Lithuanian woman who won a gold medal in the championship's history. She also competed in the same event at the 2004 Olympics, finishing 14th. She finished 11th at the 2008 Olympics.[1]

In April 2011, the Athletics Federation of Lithuania announced Balčiūnaitė has been banned for two years for a positive drug test and will be stripped of her gold medal from Barcelona. Balčiūnaitė has said she is innocent and said the positive drug test was a result of a drug prescription by her gynecologist.[2]

Achievements

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
1998 World Junior Championships in Athletics 10 3000 m 9:34.01
1999 European U23 Championships in Athletics 5 10 000 m 33:47.13
2001 European U23 Championships in Athletics 5 10 000 m 34:04.34
2004 2004 Olympic Games 14 Marathon 2:35:01
2006 2006 European Championships in Athletics 4 Marathon 2:31:01
2007 2007 World Championships in Athletics 33 Marathon 2:43:28
2008 2008 Olympic Games 11 Marathon 2:29:33
2009 2009 World Championships in Athletics 19 Marathon 2:31:06
2010 2010 European Championships in Athletics 1 Marathon 2:31:14

References

  1. ^ a b "Živilė Balčiūnaitė". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/fanguide/athlete?id=9337. Retrieved 11 November 2009. 
  2. ^ "Lithuanian marathon runner Balciunaite banned for 2 years after positive doping test". The Washington Post (The Associated Press). 2011-04-05. Archived from the original on 2011-04-05. http://www.webcitation.org/5xjQfzlri. Retrieved 2011-04-05. 

External links