Swimmer Edgaras Mataks won bronze at the European Championships

The athlete coached by Ramūnas Leon finished third in the SB11 class 100-meter breaststroke final. E. Matakas covered the distance in 1 minute. 15.88 sec. Dutch representative Rogier Dorsman became the European champion, he swam in 1 minute. 10.42 sec. The silver medal went to Ukrainian swimmer Danyl Chufarov, who showed a second time of 1 min. 14.48 sec.

“I am happy with the result and the swimming itself, with how I managed to organize my strength, how I felt after the finish. It’s nice to be back on the podium, to stand on the podium and collect the medals. The mood is good, I’m really happy”, E. Matakas shared his impressions after the final.

This is E. Matak’s second medal in this European Championship. On the first day of the competition, the Paralympian won silver in the 50-meter freestyle. The Kaunian will also swim in the 100-meter freestyle in Madeira.

On Tuesday, Gabriele Čepavičiūtė also dived into the Funchal pool, competing in the SM6 class 200-meter medley. Rasa Mažutaitienė’s pupil showed the eighth result in the selection in the morning and made it to the final, where she also finished eighth. She swam the distance in 3 minutes. 52.17 sec. The British Maisie Summers-Newton became the European champion, who finished in 2 minutes. 58.38 sec.

“In the final, my time was worse than in the morning in the selection. Maybe the fact that I’m not in the best physical condition hindered me a little. I am still happy that I had the opportunity to participate in the final. I gained even more experience swimming this new event. I am happy and I consider my entire championship quite positive,” said G. Čepavičiūtė.

It was G. Čepavičiūtė’s second start in Madeira, on Sunday, the Kaunian woman won 5th place in the 100-meter backstroke event. This is the best achievement of a swimmer at the European Championships.

Lithuania is represented by four athletes at the European Swimming Championship for People with Disabilities: Edgaras Matakas (coach Ramūnas Leonas), Gabrielė Čepavičiūtė (coach Rasa Mažutaitienė), Karolina Voiciukaitė (coach Arnoldas Januškevičius) and Simonas Žvirblis (coach Birutė Statkevičienė).