Griškonis, who finished strong, reached the final and fights for the Olympic medal, feels happy

The 35-year-old from Vilnius surpassed the 2000m distance in 6 minutes in the second semi-final of the men’s singles boats on Thursday. 45.90 sec. and crossed the finish line in third place.

Lithuanian Kjetil Botcho, who became the winner of the swim, was 2.98 seconds behind. Second place went to Croatian Damir Martin (6: 45.90).

The final will take place on Friday morning early at 3 pm 45 min. Lithuanian time.

“It just came to our notice then. Seen from the side, he was neither exhausted nor tired, said coach K. Keblys. – If you are looking at the results, they are all within 2-3 seconds. Difference. Both semi-finals. We don’t know how to will develop the final, I think any of the six finalists can become champion and take sixth place. “

At the beginning of the distance, M. Griškonis started third, but soon fell behind and fell to fifth place. However, the seasoned rower’s last 500m made a strong start, overtaking two rivals and nearly overtaking the second-placed Croatian.

“It just came to our notice then. In the second semi-final, the world champion and last year’s leader, German Oliver Zeidler, was left out of the final. Of course, this could have been predicted due to the waves,” continued K. Keblys. – For Mindaugas, the waves did not move. It is a free rower. If the rower is stronger, stiffer, the bigger the waves, the more difficult the weather, the worse. Here are both the waves and the wind gusty. Kills a lot of cancers. But not Mindaugas. Feels good in the waves. “

Finalists (semi-final results):

Due to the changing weather, the time of the men’s singles rowing semi-finals was adjusted. From each semi-final, the three fastest rowers could advance to Final A, with the remaining B Finals occupying between 7 and 12 places.

M. Griškonis already participates in the fourth Olympic Games. In 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, he won an Olympic silver medal with Saul Ritter in the men’s doubles competition.