Vaičule does not pass the 400-meter sprint semi-final at the European Indoor Championships

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In the semi-final race Vaičule was last after the first lap, but in the second lap she overtook two competitors and finished fourth with a result of 53.57 seconds.

The three fastest athletes from each semi-final qualified for the final – in the Vaichula race, they were Lijke Klavera from the Netherlands (51.43 seconds), Anna Kjevbašinska from Poland (51.67) and Lata Vondrova from the Czech Republic, who was 1.45 seconds faster than the Latvian.

In the second semi-final, all six athletes ran the distance faster than Vaichuli, the Dutch Femke Bol (52.19), the Austrian Suzanna Valli (52.40) and the Czech Tereza Petržilkova (52.93) reaching the final.

Prior to that, Vaičule, competing in the European Championship for the second time, finished in 52.85 seconds in her preliminary race, achieving her best season record, and placed third in the race.

The Latvian athlete did not immediately secure a place in the semi-finals, but among the participants of all preliminary races who did not immediately enter the next round, she was among the two owners of the best results who could also compete in the semi-finals.

At the 2019 championship in Glasgow, Vaičule reached the semi-finals, taking 14th place among 37 athletes with a result of 53.53 seconds.

Ilya Petrushenko missed out on the 400m semi-finals, while Agate Caune made it to the 3000m final, running her best season record.

The European Championship will take place from March 2 to 5 in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey.