Živilė Balčiūnaitė is a Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

n long-distance runner. Balčiūnaitė won the marathon

Marathon

The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...

 at the 2010 European Athletics Championship in Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

 and finished 4th at the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg

Gothenburg

Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...

. Balčiūnaitė was the first Lithuanian athlete who won a medal in a running event and the first Lithuanian woman who won a gold medal in the championship's history. She also competed in the same event at the 2004 Olympics, finishing 14th. She finished 11th at the 2008 Olympics.

In April 2011, the Athletics Federation of Lithuania announced Balčiūnaitė has been banned for two years for a positive drug test and will be stripped of her gold medal from Barcelona. Balčiūnaitė has said she is innocent and said the positive drug test was a result of a drug prescription by her gynecologist

Gynaecology

Gynaecology or gynecology is the medical practice dealing with the health of the female reproductive system . Literally, outside medicine, it means "the science of women"...

.

Achievements

1998	World Junior Championships in Athletics		10	3000 m	9:34.01
1999	European U23 Championships in Athletics		5	10 000 m	33:47.13
2001	European U23 Championships in Athletics		5	10 000 m	34:04.34
2004	2004 Olympic Games		14	Marathon	2:35:01
2006	2006 European Championships in Athletics 2006 European Championships in Athletics The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit"...		4	Marathon	2:31:01
2007	2007 World Championships in Athletics 2007 World Championships in Athletics The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...		33	Marathon	2:43:28
2008	2008 Olympic Games		11	Marathon	2:29:33
2009	2009 World Championships in Athletics 2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....		19	Marathon	2:31:06
2010	2010 European Championships in Athletics 2010 European Championships in Athletics The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain from 27 July to 1 August 2010...		1	Marathon	2:31:14

External links