National awards for Asadauskaite and coach Zadneprovskis (LTU)

The Modern Pentathlon community in Lithuania is celebrating after a double success at the National Sports Awards.

Laura Asadauskaite, the London 2012 Olympic champion and current world No.2, was named Sportswoman of the Year for the third time having previously been honoured in 2011 and 2015.

The 35-year-old had an exceptional year in 2019, winning gold at the UIPM Pentathlon World Cup Final in Tokyo (JPN) to secure a qualification place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and backing it up with victory at the European Championships in Bath (GBR).

To add to the good feeling, Asadauskaite’s husband, Andrejus Zadneprovskis, was named Male Coach of the Year at the same awards ceremony.

Zadneprovskis, who sits on the UIPM Executive Board, starting his coaching career after retiring in 2010, by which time he had won Olympic silver in Athens (2004) and bronze in Beijing (2008).

  

Photo: Elvis Zaldaris