This year, the most titled Lithuanian swimmer of all time, Rūta Meilutytė, who did not participate in any competitions, chose the European Championship for her first start, deciding to compete only in her favorite 50 m breaststroke event.
In the fifth heat of the qualifying competition on Saturday, R. Meilutytė completed the distance in 30.21 seconds, took second place, and firmly advanced to the semifinals.
In the third heat, swimming in lane seven, another Lithuanian swimming star Kotryna Teterevkova finished in 30.95 seconds, took 6th place, but also advanced to the next stage.
The fastest in the qualifying heats among all participants were Italian Bernadetta Pilato (29.86 seconds) and Finnish Veera Kivirinta (30.17 seconds), with R. Meilutytė’s time being third.
K. Teterevkova was 16th in the qualifying stage.
The semifinals of this event will take place on Saturday evening from 7 p.m.
29-year-old world record holder R. Meilutytė, after winning her fourth consecutive gold at the World Championships in Singapore last summer and silver at the European Championships in the 25 m pool in Lublin in December, had distanced herself from swimming and missed the Lithuanian championships and important competitions in Rome.
For the past few years, R. Meilutytė’s coach was Tadas Duškinas, but for this European Championship, the swimmer prepared without him according to a personal plan.
The first Lithuanians to jump into the pool on Saturday in the 50 m freestyle qualifying heats in the fifth heat were supposed to be Tomas Lukminas and Tajus Juška, but the former did not appear at the start due to illness.
T. Juška completed the distance in 23.08 seconds, finished ninth, and did not pass the qualifying barrier.
In the sixth qualifying heat, Jokūbas Keblys finished in 22.45 seconds, placed 10th, and also did not advance to the semifinals.
Then it was time for the masters of the 100 m backstroke. In the second heat, Dominikas Grudinskis swam the event in lane zero in 55.61 seconds and took first place. However, this performance was not enough for the Lithuanian to reach the semifinals.
In the fifth heat, Mantas Kaušpėdas took 56.08 seconds in lane nine, finished ninth, and will also not participate in the next stage.
The Lithuanian performances in the Saturday morning session will conclude at 11:57 with the mixed 4×200 m relay qualifying, where the team consisting of Sylvia Statkevičius, Ieva Jurkūnaitė, Kristupas Trepočka, and T. Juška will compete.
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