by Perri Williams
To be fourth in a major race can be both disappointing and elevating at the same time. For three-time Paralympian Greta Streimikyte that fourth place has come just once too often. Streimikyte, wanted a medal. The disappointment in the aftermath of her race last Friday was evident. Not even a new European record could take the place of that coveted medal.
The three-time Paralympian competes in the T13 classification; Vision Impairment. Born in Lithuania, she is a triplet to a sister and a brother. She moved to Ireland from Lithuania when she was fifteen. However, she did not take up athletics until she was seventeen. Her mother did athletics at one stage in Lithuania, however it is her father’s cousin, Jurgita Streimikyte who is the most famous sports person in the family. He played on the Lithuanian team that won the 1997 European Championship and went on to play Basketball as a pro in Indiana USA.
It didn’t take long for Streimikyte to show promise in para-athletics. Within a year she finished third in the European T13 1500m in 2016. She qualified for the Rio Olympics and finished fourth in a personal best of 4:45.06. Since then, the UCD athlete has claimed two European titles (2018 and 2021) and finished fifth in the Tokyo Olympics. She is a regular at Athletics Ireland races, racing against the best in the country and has on occasion made the national 1500m final. Her best time of 4:29.33 came from the AAI Games in 2021, where Michelle Finn paced her.
Earlier this year she set a new European record over 1500m, a time of 4.33.27. This was good enough to qualify her for her third Paralympics. In Paris, the intention was to go fast on the first lap. This is exactly what Streimikyte. She went through the first 400m in 70.35 seconds placing second and tucked in nicely behind Ethiopia’s reigning champion Tigist Gezahagn. However, “the plan did not go the way I wanted. The plan was to lead the race. The girls were so fast”, she stated after the race. By the time the athletes reached close to the 1200m mark, Streimikyte was lying in sixth place. At the bell she surged again and moved into fifth position. Determined not to have a repeat of her Tokyo performance, the Lithuanian woman put in a storming final lap. Passing Somaya Bousaid (Tunisia) with 250m to go, she moved into fourth place. The leading three athletes Ethiopian Tigist Gezahagn Mengistu, Morocco’s Fatima Ezzahra El Idrissi and American Liza Corso, were too far ahead to catch. Streimikyte would have to be content with another fourth and a new European record to boost. While her 2024 season was not her best, she was "happy that I was able to pull something out of the bag,” she stated after the race.
She is coached by Feidhlim Kelly at the Dublin Track Club and never lets her disability hold her back. Will Streimikyte try to make a fourth Olympics and launch another effort to reach the podium? Her reaction in the aftermath of Friday’s race suggests she will.