Živilė Balčiūnaitė

Živilė Balčiūnaitė
Personal information
Nationality Lithuania
Born (1979-04-03) 3 April 1979 (age 45)
Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
Sport
CountryLithuania
SportRunning
Achievements and titles
Regional finals1st, 2010
National finals1st, 2000
2nd, 2001, 2009
Živilė Balčiūnaitė at the 2010 Golden Spike Ostrava

Živilė Balčiūnaitė (born 3 April 1979[1] in Vilnius) is a Lithuanian Marathon runner.

Career

Balčiūnaitė finished 4th at the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg. She also competed in the same event at the 2004 Olympics, finishing 14th. She finished 11th at the 2008 Olympics.[1]

Doping bans

In April 2011, the Athletics Federation of Lithuania announced Balčiūnaitė has been banned for two years for a positive drug test and was stripped of her marathon gold medal from the 2010 European Athletics Championships.[2]

Balčiūnaitė received an eight year ban in July 2016 by the Athletics Federation of Lithuania after testing positive for meldonium.[3]

Achievements

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Lithuania
1998 World Junior Championships Annecy, France 10th 3000 m 9:34.01
1999 European U23 Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 5th 10,000 m 33:47.13
2001 European U23 Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands 5th 10,000 m 34:04.34
2004 2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece 14th Marathon 2:35:01
2006 2006 European Championships in Athletics Gothenburg, Sweden 4th Marathon 2:31:01
2007 2007 World Championships in Athletics Osaka, Japan 33rd Marathon 2:43:28
2008 2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China 11th Marathon 2:29:33
2009 2009 World Championships in Athletics Berlin, Germany 19th Marathon 2:31:06
2010 2010 European Championships in Athletics Barcelona, Spain dq Marathon 2:31:14
2013 2013 World Championships in Athletics Moscow, Russia 20th Marathon 2:41:09 SB

References

  1. ^ a b "Živilė Balčiūnaitė". ESPN. Archived from the original on 8 October 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  2. ^ "Lithuanian marathon runner Balciunaite banned for 2 years after positive doping test". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 5 April 2011. Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  3. ^ "Balciunaite gets 8-year ban after failing doping test". Sports Illustrated. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2023.