By Ray Goedeker
goedeker@grinnell.edu
This past summer, Grinnell Track and Fields’ Agne Lukoseviciute ’21 garnered international attention for setting the Lithuanian national record in the event and breaking her own personal record. This is coming off a spring track and field season in which she qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championships and earned All-American honors.
During the Lithuanian National Championships, Lukoseviciute threw 60.48 meters, converting to 198 feet, 4.5 inches. This distance beat Lukoseviciute’s pervious personal record by a full five meters and puts her fifth all-time for NCAA D-III level throwers.
“It means a lot to me, not just the win but also getting the chance to compete in Lithuania and in front of my family,” said Lukoseviciute.
Lukoseviciute described how she accomplished this feat. “Preparations started over a year ago… This is when I realized what the Lithuanian National record was at the time and figured that I would try to break it. I was almost 10m away from it at the time, but I thought that I could do it; if not the upcoming season then at least the next one or before graduating. That gave me a lot more motivation to train and focus on the hammer throw.”
Of the hard work put into this past year, Lukoseviciute said, “I spent the summer doing quite a bit of research on hammer throw which led me to change up my technique for this past season. By the time that track season started, I was already in a solid routine of training, recovery, and seeking technical help when needed. It was just a matter of time at that point and I was just really hoping that the time I had this season would be enough to break the record… Once I decided that I would be going to the Lithuanian Championship, I started eight weeks of training specifically for hammer throw without training the discus/shot put. It worked out perfectly and I was in really good shape the week of the competition.”
Due to NCAA rules, Coach Jeff Pedersen was not able to coach Lukoseviciute this summer, though still he was a supporter during her success.
Of her performance, he said, “She’s come so far in such a short period of time, it’s hard to really know what to think. The first time she threw hammer in a competition she threw 36.52 (119’10”) and I was excited that she’d likely be able to score for us at the conference championship. By the end of that season she was up to right around 150’ and placed second at conference. This year, counting her meet in Lithuania, she’s up to 60.48 meters (over 198 feet)! That’s incredible improvement in 16 months and I think we’re all pretty excited to see how far she can go.”
In the next two years, Lukoseviciute has her sights on even bigger goals. “As for Division III, I’ve got my eyes set on the record for hammer throw. I think it’s around 65m and I hope that with all the training I have planned until then, it would be reasonable to break it by the end of next season. Outside of that, I’m hoping to keep raising the Lithuanian record, continue competing in more international competitions, and represent Lithuania on bigger stages,” said Lukoseviciute.
Lukoseviciute will continue her training this year with the Track and Field team in hopes to further her achievements with the team.
