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| Ruta
MEILUTYTE |
| Sport |
Swimming |
| NOC |
Lithuania
|
| Gender | Women |
| Born | 19 Mar 1997
in Kaunas, LTU |
| Height | 1.76 m |
| Weight | 75 kg |
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Further Personal Information |
Languages |
English, Lithuanian |
General Interest |
Other information |
RETIREMENT
She retired from competitive swimming in May 2019. (olympics.nbcsports.com, 22 May 2019)
DEPRESSION
In April 2018 she announced that she had been suffering from depression since the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "I have depression and I fight every day against it. It's a battle. With the help of my family and friends, I found ways to deal with it and feel better. But I'm not free and I feel I still have to work to get out of it." (swimswam.com, 19 Apr 2018)
GLOBETROTTER
After being raised for most of her life by her grandmother in Lithuania, she moved to Plymouth, England, in 2010 where her father was already working as a carer. Her mother died in a car accident when Ruta was four years old. In late 2016 she moved back to live and train in Kaunas, Lithuania, after her coach Jon Rudd left Plymouth to coach in the Republic of Ireland. "After starting to train in Kaunas I decided I wanted to be in the city I grew up in. The possibility of going abroad was no longer an option." However, since then she spent time training in Australia in 2017 with coach Michael Bohl and in 2018 in the United States of America with coach David Marsh's Team Elite in San Diego, CA. In March 2018, she announced that she had finally settled in the US with coach Dave Salo at Trojan Swim Club in Los Angeles, CA. (swimswam.com, 17 Mar 2018; 17 Jan 2018; delfi.lt, 15 Feb 2017; 15min.lt, 14 Feb 2017; federnuoto.it, 22 Jun 2016; telegraph.co.uk, 30 Jul 2012)
FILM
A film chronicling her life 'Ruta' was released in March 2018. (swimswam.com, 26 Feb 2018) |
Hero / Idol |
US swimmer Rebecca Soni. (bbc.co.uk, 01 Aug 2013) |
Injuries |
In September 2015 she suffered a broken elbow after falling off her bicycle. She required surgery on the injury and after initially expecting to return to competition at the 2016 Euro Meet in January in Luxembourg, she was forced to postpone her comeback. She eventually returned to competition just ahead of the 2016 European Championships, in which she went on to win the 100m breaststroke. (bbc.co.uk, 15 Sep 2015; swimswam.com 29 Jan 2016; SportsDeskOnline 18 May 2016) |
Sport Specific Information |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
She began swimming at age five. |
General Interest |
Nicknames |
Roots (Twitter profile, 25 Jun 2018) |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"Every small or big victory gives you strength and self-confidence." (zmones.lt, 12 Apr 2018) |
Milestones |
Her gold medal in the 100m breaststroke at the 2012 Olympic Games in London made her Lithuania's youngest Olympic champion in any sport. (swimming.org, 18 Feb 2013)
In July 2013 she became the first female swimmer representing Lithuania to break a world record when she finished the 100m breaststroke in 1:04.35 during the semifinals of the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, Spain. Her ensuing gold medal in the event was Lithuania's first at the world championships. At 16 years and 133 days old, it made her the youngest female to win Olympic and world championships gold in the 100m breaststroke. (SportsDeskOnline, 30 Jul 2013)
At the 2012 World Short Course Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, she became the first Lithuanian to win a medal in the history of the event by winning gold in the women's 50m breaststroke. (insidethegames.biz, 13 Dec 2012; SportsDeskOnline, 30 Jul 2013) |
Olympic Games |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 7 |
2016 |
Rio de Janeiro, BRA |
100m Breaststroke |
1:07.32 |
| 1 |
2012 |
London, ENG |
100m Breaststroke |
1:05.47 |
| Heats |
2012 |
London, ENG |
100m Freestyle |
56.33 |
| Heats |
2012 |
London, ENG |
50m Freestyle |
25.55 |
World Championships |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 1 |
2024 |
Doha, QAT |
50m Breaststroke |
29.40 |
| 17 |
2024 |
Doha, QAT |
100m Breaststroke |
1:07.79 |
| Heats |
2024 |
Doha, QAT |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
|
| 15 |
2024 |
Doha, QAT |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
3:51.99 |
| 1 |
2023 |
Fukuoka, JPN |
50m Breaststroke |
29.16 |
| 1 |
2023 |
Fukuoka, JPN |
100m Breaststroke |
1:04.62 |
| 3 |
2022 |
Budapest, HUN |
100m Breaststroke |
1:06.02 |
| 1 |
2022 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Breaststroke |
29.70 |
| Heats |
2022 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Freestyle |
26.25 |
| Heats |
2022 |
Budapest, HUN |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
DSQ |
| 4 |
2017 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Breaststroke |
30.20 |
| 4 |
2017 |
Budapest, HUN |
100m Breaststroke |
1:05.65 |
| Heats |
2017 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Freestyle |
26.03 |
| 2 |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
100m Breaststroke |
1:06.36 |
| 4 |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
50m Breaststroke |
30.14 |
| 2 |
2013 |
Barcelona, ESP |
50m Breaststroke |
29.59 |
| Heats |
2013 |
Barcelona, ESP |
100m Freestyle |
55.72 |
| 1 |
2013 |
Barcelona, ESP |
100m Breaststroke |
1:04.42 |
| Heats |
2013 |
Barcelona, ESP |
50m Freestyle |
DNS |
World Championships Short Course |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 1 |
2022 |
Melbourne, VIC, AUS |
50m Breaststroke |
28.50 |
| 8 |
2022 |
Melbourne, VIC, AUS |
100m Breaststroke |
DSQ |
| 2 |
2018 |
Hangzhou, CHN |
50m Breaststroke |
29.38 |
| Semifinal |
2018 |
Hangzhou, CHN |
100m Breaststroke |
1:06.16 |
| Heats |
2018 |
Hangzhou, CHN |
50m Freestyle |
25.78 |
| Semifinal |
2018 |
Hangzhou, CHN |
100m Individual Medley |
59.81 |
| 2 |
2014 |
Doha, QAT |
100m Breaststroke |
1:02.46 |
| 5 |
2014 |
Doha, QAT |
100m Individual Medley |
58.73 |
| 1 |
2014 |
Doha, QAT |
50m Breaststroke |
28.84 |
| |
2014 |
Doha, QAT |
50m Freestyle |
DNS |
| 2 |
2012 |
Istanbul, TUR |
100m Individual Medley |
58.79 |
| 1 |
2012 |
Istanbul, TUR |
50m Breaststroke |
29.44 |
| 1 |
2012 |
Istanbul, TUR |
100m Breaststroke |
1:03.52 |
| Heats |
2012 |
Istanbul, TUR |
100m Freestyle |
53.54 |
| Heats |
2012 |
Istanbul, TUR |
50m Freestyle |
DNS |
European Championships |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 31 |
2022 |
Rome, ITA |
50m Freestyle |
26.38 |
| 1 |
2022 |
Rome, ITA |
50m Breaststroke |
29.59 |
| 3 |
2022 |
Rome, ITA |
100m Breaststroke |
1:06.50 |
| 4 |
2018 |
Glasgow, SCO |
50m Breaststroke |
30.46 |
| 2 |
2018 |
Glasgow, SCO |
100m Breaststroke |
1:06.26 |
| 8 |
2018 |
Glasgow, SCO |
50m Freestyle |
25.16 |
| Heats |
2018 |
Glasgow, SCO |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
3:51.85 |
| 1 |
2016 |
London, ENG |
100m Breaststroke |
1:06.17 |
| Heats |
2014 |
Berlin, GER |
50m Freestyle |
25.54 |
| 1 |
2014 |
Berlin, GER |
50m Breaststroke |
29.89 |
European Championships Short Course |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 1 |
2017 |
Copenhagen, DEN |
50m Breaststroke |
29.36 |
| 1 |
2017 |
Copenhagen, DEN |
100m Breaststroke |
1:03.79 |
| Heats |
2017 |
Copenhagen, DEN |
200m Breaststroke |
DNS |
| 2 |
2013 |
Herning, DEN |
50m Breaststroke |
29.10 |
| 1 |
2013 |
Herning, DEN |
100m Individual Medley |
57.68 |
| 1 |
2013 |
Herning, DEN |
100m Breaststroke |
1:02.92 |
| Heats |
2013 |
Herning, DEN |
50m Freestyle |
DNS |
World Cup |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 25 |
2023 |
|
Overall Ranking |
|
| 1 |
2023 |
Athens, GRE |
100m Breaststroke |
1:06.70 |
| 1 |
2023 |
Athens, GRE |
50m Breaststroke |
30.23 |
| 5 |
2023 |
Berlin, GER |
100m Breaststroke |
1:07.43 |
| 1 |
2023 |
Berlin, GER |
50m Breaststroke |
29.56 |
| 5 |
2022 |
Berlin, GER |
100m Individual Medley |
59.08 |
| 1 |
2022 |
Berlin, GER |
100m Breaststroke |
1:03.07 |
| 1 |
2022 |
Berlin, GER |
50m Breaststroke |
28.60 AR |
| 1 |
2022 |
Indianapolis, IN, USA |
50m Breaststroke |
28.70 |
| 7 |
2022 |
Indianapolis, IN, USA |
100m Individual Medley |
59.58 |
| 1 |
2022 |
Indianapolis, IN, USA |
100m Breaststroke |
1:02.77 |
| 1 |
2022 |
Toronto, ON, CAN |
100m Breaststroke |
1:02.95 |
| 7 |
2022 |
Toronto, ON, CAN |
100m Individual Medley |
59.67 |
| 1 |
2022 |
Toronto, ON, CAN |
50m Breaststroke |
28.96 |
| 17 |
2017 |
|
Overall |
|
| 2 |
2017 |
Eindhoven, NED |
100m Breaststroke |
1:03.79 |
| 2 |
2017 |
Eindhoven, NED |
50m Breaststroke |
29.57 |
| 2 |
2017 |
Moscow, RUS |
50m Breaststroke |
29.51 |
| 5 |
2017 |
Moscow, RUS |
200m Breaststroke |
2:22.21 |
| 13 |
2014 |
|
Overall |
|
| 2 |
2014 |
Singapore, SGP |
100m Breaststroke |
1:03.05 |
| 3 |
2014 |
Singapore, SGP |
100m Individual Medley |
59.00 |
| 2 |
2014 |
Singapore, SGP |
50m Breaststroke |
29.26 |
| 4 |
2014 |
Tokyo, JPN |
100m Individual Medley |
59.23 |
| 2 |
2014 |
Tokyo, JPN |
100m Breaststroke |
1:03.72 |
| 1 |
2014 |
Tokyo, JPN |
50m Breaststroke |
29.36 |
| 14 |
2013 |
|
Overall |
|
| 1 |
2013 |
Moscow, RUS |
100m Breaststroke |
1:02.36 WR |
| 1 |
2013 |
Moscow, RUS |
50m Breaststroke |
28.89 |
| 1 |
2013 |
Moscow, RUS |
100m Individual Medley |
58.57 |
| 23 |
2012 |
|
Overall |
|
| 1 |
2012 |
Stockholm, SWE |
100m Breaststroke |
1:05.02 |
| 5 |
2012 |
Stockholm, SWE |
50m Freestyle |
25.03 |
| 1 |
2012 |
Stockholm, SWE |
50m Breaststroke |
29.96 |
| 3 |
2012 |
Stockholm, SWE |
100m Individual Medley |
1:00.65 |
| |
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