Diana Zagainova is a Lithuanian triple jump athlete. She is a European U23 champion, a World University Games Silver medalist, as well as a five-time national champion (outdoor and indoor). She is also a Lithuanian record holder in the triple jump.
Diana Zagainova was born on June 20, 1997, in Vilnius, Lithuania. She started in athletics, but in the beginning tried different events, including the long jump and sprints, before turning entirely into e triple jump.
Diana Zagainova started her competitive career already in 2013, taking part in the Utrecht 12th European Youth Olympic Festival in the long jump. During the season she won her first junior title at the Klaipeda Lithuanian U18 Indoor Championships, winning in the long jump.
Diana Zagainova specialized in the triple jump in 2014, winning her first national medal – the bronze at the Klaipeda Lithuanian Indoor Championships. During the season she also won the gold at the Siauliai Baltic U18 Indoor Championships and the bronze at the Vilnius Lithuanian Indoor Club Championships. She continues dominating the triple jump junior championships, winning the gold at the Vilnius Lithuanian U18 Championships and the Valmiera U18 President’s Cup. She competed also at the Kaunas Lithuanian Championships but did not make a successful attempt in the final.
In 2015, Diana Zagainova won two more triple jump bronze medals at the national championships – Klaipeda Lithuanian Indoor Championships and Palanga Lithuanian Championships. She competed also at the Eskilstuna European Junior Championships, Ekangens Friidrottsarena. At the junior level, she dominated the triple jump, winning the gold at the Alytus Lithuanian U20 Championships.
Diana Zagainova won her first national title in 2016 at the Kaunas Lithuanian Indoor Championships. During the indoor season, she won the gold at the Klaipeda Lithuanian Indoor University Championships and Minsk International Indoor U20 Match, as well as the silver at the Vilnius Lithuanian Indoor Club Championships. During the outdoor season, she earned silver at the Palanga Lithuanian Championships and bronze at the Mersin ECCC Group A. Meanwhile, during the season she grabbed the gold at the Mannheim Bauhaus Junioren-Gala and Vilnius Lithuanian U20 Championships and competed at the Bydgoszcz IAAF World U20 Championships.
In 2017, Diana Zagainova continues to perform at the top level in the triple jump, winning the gold at the Palanga Lithuanian Championships and Klaipeda Lithuanian Indoor Championships, as well as Klaipeda Lithuanian Indoor University Championships, Kaunas Lithuanian U23 Championships, and Riga Sell Students Games. During the outdoor season, she also competed at the Bydgoszcz European U23 Championships and Taipei Universiade but missed the honors. During the season she improved her personal best in the triple jump to 13.64m, achieved at the Kaunas Lithuanian University Championships, where won the silver.
Diana Zagainova debuted at the IAAF World Indoor Tour in 2018, competing at the Madrid Indoor Meeting, but finished 9th. During the indoor season, she won the silver at the Klaipeda Lithuanian Indoor Championships and Spanish Indoor Club Championships, as well as the gold at the Valencia Regional Indoor Club Championships. During the outdoor season, Diana Zagainova continues improving her results, jumping 13.74m for the silver at the Ogre Prezidenta Balva. She won the silver at the Palanga Lithuanian Championships and Valencia Spanish Club Championships, but also competed at the Goteborg Folksam GP, finishing 7th.
In 2019, Diana Zagainova won her most prestigious title at the Gavle European U23 Championships. During the season she earned the gold at the Siauliai Lithuanian Indoor Championships, Resisprint International in La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland), and LLAF Cupp in Utena (Lithuania), as well as the silver at the Palanga Lithuanian Championships. She also competed at the Doha IAAF World Championships in Athletics and Glasgow European Indoor Championships but remained without medals.
In 2020, Diana Zagainova debuted in the Golden Label events at the Herculis in Monaco but finished 7th. During the season she earned the bronze at the 31st Meeting International di Atletia leggera sport soudarieta and the silver at the Palanga Lithuanian Championships.
Diana Zagainova was part of the Lithuanian team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which were held in 2021, and competed in the triple jump, but unfortunately did not reach the finals. During the season she earned the gold at the Resisprint International in La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland) and Klaipeda Lithuanian Indoor Championships, the silver at the Palanga Lithuanian Championships and Campeonato de Espana de Clubes. She competed also at the Torun European Athletics Indoor Championships but missed to win a medal.
In 2022, Diana Zagainova earned silver at the Klaipeda Lithuanian Indoor Championships and bronze at the Siauliai Lithuanian Championships. She also earned bronze at the Palanga LAF Open Cup Competition.
In 2023, Diana Zagainova started strongly the indoor season, earning the bronze at the Klaipeda Lithuanian Indoor Championships. She competed also at the Istanbul European Athletics Indoor Championships but did not reach the final. However, she finished 6th at the World Indoor Tour Madrid 2023 and 4th at the Manchester World Indoor Tour. During the outdoor season, she earned the silver at the Chengdu FISU World University Games and Kaunas LAF Open Cup Competition, bronze at the Palanga Lithuanian Championships and Atletica Geneve – EAP in Geneve (Switzerland).
Diana Zagainova photos
