Lithuanian Olympic Champion Ruta Meilutyte competed over the weekend at the Edinburgh International meet, her first competition back after suffering an elbow injury last year. The 18-year-old proved she was back to form, as she clocked wins in both the 50m breaststroke and 100m breaststroke events, clocking the world’s 2nd-fastest time of the season in the latter.
As originally reported by Loretta Race:
Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte traveled to Edinburgh with her Plymouth Leander teammates, making her post-broken elbow racing debut. Suffering the mishap last September, Meilutyte was first scheduled to swim at the Euro Meet in Luxembourg in January, but pulled out before competition began.
The extra rest proved potent for the 18-year-old, as Meilutyte threw down a monster 1:05.82 to easily take the women’s 100 breaststroke event. Splitting 30.40/35.42, the 2015 World Championship silver medalist topped the field by almost 2 seconds en route to clocking the world’s 2nd-fastest time of the season. Only Russia’s Yuliya Efimova has been faster (1:05.70) and the two European women represent the only sub-1:06 breaststrokers of 2016.
2015-2016 LCM Women 100 BREAST
KING
1.04.93*OR
| 2 | Yulia EFIMOVA | RUS | 1.05.50 | 08/08 |
| 3 | Katie MEILI | USA | 1.05.69 | 08/08 |
| 4 | Ruta MEILUTYTE | LTU | 1.05.82 | 03/11 |
| 5 | Alia ATKINSON | JAM | 1.05.93 | 11/06 |
Was beginning to doubt RMeilutyte was going to make it all the back from the injury. Big swim! Congratulations. Things seem to be heating up in the women’s breaststroke ‘pool.’ Three top four swims in the past week alone. YEfimova 31.34/34.36= 1:05.7 on 3/3/16 ; RMeilutyte 30.40/35.42 = 1:05.82 on 3/11/16; and MHannis 31.45/34.71= 1:06.16 on 3/4/16 (not yet posted above from Southern Premier meet). Not to mention another 1:06 from KMeili 1:06.77, also at S Premier 3/4.
British accent coming along nicely!