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“I guess there was a four-leaf clover stuck to the shoe somewhere – the results look really good,” the pilot said on Facebook Sunday morning after a flight over the Nemunas circuits in Birštonas.
In the first heats, with a strong wind, without having obtained the best results and being a little below the awarded places in the general classification, L. Komža established himself at the top after the second flight. He scored 8,705 points out of 10,000 possible and was well below other winners.
In second place on the account of Tadas Gegevičius – 7,317, in third place Vytas Kerdokas – 7,074 points. Romanas Mikelevičius (7,058) and Žydrūnas Kazlauskas (6,743) finished in the top five.
During the four days of competition, four flights were made of the five planned. Two flights had to be canceled due to fog and rain, so there was a backup flight of only 15 minutes on Sunday morning; left on schedule if there have not been enough flights or few tasks. Due to fog and increased winds, three tasks were canceled during a morning flight; the pilots managed to complete only two. In total, the athletes completed 10 tasks and almost after each of them their alignment changed; Very soon it became clear that only the contender for gold, but other leaders were constantly changing.
A total of 18 pilots competed in the 28th National Hot Air Balloon Championship, somewhat less than usual in the championships of our country. The championships were held in record time and unusually late: most of the competitions in Lithuania take place in late spring or summer. Among the participants was an athlete from Latvia: Kristina Veverė. It was one of the few hot air balloon competitions in the world in 2020 and the only competition of this level in our country this year.
Less than a year ago, in October last year, L. Komža won second place in the European Championship. He has not participated in any major international competitions since then: winter was about to start and the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world in the second half. The first competition after the quarantine announced in the spring took place in June in the Lithuanian capital. The athlete was fourth in the Vilnius Open Championship.
VIDEO: Moments of the 28th Lithuanian Hot Air Balloon Championship
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