Eglė Balčiūnaitė (born 31 October 1988 in

Šiauliai Šiauliai ( ; ) is a city in northern Lithuania, the List of cities in Lithuania, country's fourth largest city and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, sixth largest city in the Baltic States, with a population of 112 581 in 202 ...

) is a

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

middle-distance runner who competes internationally for

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. She competed at the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

in Beijing and the

2016 Olympic Games The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

in Rio de Janeiro. In 2010, she became the first Lithuanian track and field athlete to reach the final of the

World Athletics Indoor Championships The World Athletics Indoor Championships are a biennial indoor track and field competition served as the global championship for that version of the sport. Organised by the World Athletics, the competition was inaugurated as the ''World Indoor G ...

Career

She defeated her more experienced compatriot Irina Krakoviak in a Lithuanian pre-Olympic selection race and subsequently competed in the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

in 800 metres distance, where she finished in a credible 22nd place, despite being the youngest member of the Lithuanian Olympic team. She took part in the

2009 European Athletics U23 Championships The 7th European Athletics U23 Championships were held between 16 and 19 July 2009 in the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium in Kaunas, Lithuania. Complete results and medal winners were published. Men's results Women's results Medal table ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

and placed 6th in the final. She participated in the

2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was held between 12 and 14 March at the Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar. The championships was the first of six IAAF World Athletics Series events to take place in 2010. Bidding and organisation Th ...

where she achieved her personal best and finished fifth in the indoor 800 m discipline in Doha Qatar), and in doing so, became the first Lithuanian track and field athlete to reach the final of the World Indoor Championships. In 2011, she set the Lithuanian national record for the 800 metres indoor race, running 2:01.23. Her Lithuanian national indoor record for the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

set in 2010 stood for eight years until it was broken by Modesta Justė Morauskaitė running 53.21 seconds in February 2018. Balčiūnaitė won a bronze medal over 800 metres at the

2013 Summer Universiade The 2013 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXVII Summer Universiade (; ), was held in the city of Kazan, Russia, the most northerly city ever to host a Summer Universiade. Over 10,400 university athletes from 162 countries participated ...

in Kazan, Russia. She represented Lithuania in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

at the

. She finished 12th overall at the

2017 World Athletics Championships The 2017 IAAF World Championships, the sixteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships, were held from 4 to 13 August at London Stadium in London, United Kingdom. London was officially awarded the championships on 11 November 2011. Bidding p ...

in London. In January 2023, Balčiūnaitė announced about her retirement from professional sport at the age of 34 years-old. She was honored with a special prize during the Lithuanian Athletics Federation's festive evening held in Palanga in early January 2023.

Personal life

She is from the Šiauliai Pietinis district of Lithuania.

Personal records

*800 m – 1:59.29 s (2010, outdoor,

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

Diamond League) *800 m – 2:01.23 s (2011, indoor,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, national record) *400 m – 53.47 s (2010, indoor,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, national record)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balciunaite, Egle 1988 births Living people Lithuanian female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes for Lithuania Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Balciunaite FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Lithuania European Games competitors for Lithuania Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 European Games Medalists at the 2013 Summer Universiade