Ruta Meilutyte became the 50m breaststroke world champion with a new WR

Ruta Meilutyte became the 50m breaststroke world champion with a new world record on the final day of the Fukuoka World Aquatics Championships in Japan.

The Lithuanian swimmer equaled the previous world’s best by Benedetta Pilato (Italy) in yesterday’s semi-finals with 29.30 sec, and today she took another 14 hundredths off the record, finishing in 29.16 sec.

“I’m happy. I definitely felt it was possible. I’m enjoying the process along the way”, said Ruta Meilutyte after the final.

Benedetta Pilato finished third in today’s final with 30.04 sec. The silver medal went to the American Lily King with 29.94 sec.

Ruta Meilutyte is a Lithuanian swimmer. An Olympic gold medalist, she is a world record holder in the short course 50m breaststroke and 100m breaststroke. From July 2019 to July 2021, she served a 24-month suspension for anti-doping rule violations between April 2018 and March 2019. She returned to national competition in December 2021.