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Ruta Meilutyte Returns To Lucky Lane 4 To Add London Euro Title To Olympic Crown
- Updated: May 18, 2016
European Championships
London, Day 3 Finals
Racing in the same London lane 4 in which she claimed Olympic gold in 2012, Ruta Meilutyte took 1min 06.17 to claim the one crown that was missing from her impressive treasury over 100m breaststroke. It was a tight finish and a tight race as a result, the silver to Hilde Luthersdottir in an Icelandic record of 1:06.45, the bronze to Britain’s Chloe Tutton in 1:07.50.
The European title was delivered by the Plymouth Leander-based Lithuanian off a 30.17 split a little over six months after she fractured an elbow on the way to two lots of surgery, rehabilitation and recovery of form back on the trail of elite sporting achievement in the pool. The speed and power are all looking good. The tight timeline to regain fitness showed at the end of battle today.
Asked after the race whether she had had a tough 12 months, Meilutyte, coached by Jon Rudd, said:
“I’ve had a lot of challenges and lots of ups and downs. But you have to try and stay positive, take what you can from the experiences, overcome those challenges and learn something new. I have learned a lot in the last couple of years and I definitely could not have done it without my coach’s support, having my whole support system there.”
Meilutyte will still be a teenager when she takes to her blocks for the defence of the Olympic crown in Rio this August. At 15 back at London 2012, she was the youngest ever winner of the biggest 100m title of all. Since then, she has at least one of every title open to her on breaststroke (including 50 and/or 100m), Olympic, Olympic Youth, World, Senior and Junior, European, Senior and Junior, national long- and short-course.
Ruta Meilutyte by PBK
The European long-course crown had been missing until today because of the timing of events: after claiming the World 50 and 100m titles and four golds at 2013 World Junior Championships in 2013, Meilutyte opted for a last season as a junior in 2014 so that she could represent her country at the Olympic Youth Games in Nanjing, China. Victory in the bag over 50 and 100m, she dashed back to Europe in time for the 50m at the continental showcase in Berlin but was too late to race in the 100m.
Meilutyte’s margin of comfort on the clock is stark: 1:04.35 is the world record she is working back towards at a time when the likes of Lily King (USA, on 1:05.7 this season) are pressing down into the 1:05s.
The helm of the world rankings in 2016:
Women 100M Breaststroke 1 01:05.70 Yulia Efimova* RUS , 24 Pro Swim Series USA, Orlando 2 01:05.73 Lilly King USA , 19 USA Pro Swim Series USA, Charlotte 3 01:05.82 Ruta Meilutyte LTU , 19 Edinburgh International GBR, Edinburgh 4 01:06.12 Georgia Bohl AUS , 18 Australian Championships AUS, Adelaide 5 01:06.16 Molly Hannis USA , 24 Southern Premier USA, Knoxville …
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