5 National Records, Including Meilutyte’s 50 Free, Go Down at Lithuanian Nationals

Lithuanian swimming is riding the considerable wake of World Record holder Ruta Meilutyte, and after making their Short Course National Championships a focus, don’t-miss-it-if-you-know-what’s-good-for-you, meet this year, the first two days of competition have resulted in a near total rewrite of the Meet Record book.

In addition to more than a dozen Championship Record-breaking swims, there were 5 National Records broken in the first two days of this three day meet.

That included a 24.95 from Meilutyte in the finals of the women’s 50 free. It clears her own record by .02 seconds, though she’s clearly capable of much better based on her long course times.

Meilutyte also won the 50 breaststroke in 29.49 (her best of 29.25 in the semifinals was a Meet Record) , the 100 IM in a new Meet Record of 1:00.92, and the more unusual 200 backstroke in 2:10.77, another Meet Record. That’s four gold medals and four Meet Records through two days of competition for Meilutyte.

Another young Lithuanian success story has also broken a National Record. Danas Rapsys, a 17-year old and European Junior Champion, was the top seed in the prelims of the men’s 200 fly in 1:56.26, but he scratched the final, which left Edgaras Stura to win in a 2:01. Rapsys did pick up golds in the 100 IM (54.90) and in a couple of relays, but scratched his best event, the 200 back, as well.

Jurate Scerbinskaite won the women’s 400 free in 4:11.25, a new Lithuanian Record as well. The time broke her own Record by just over a second. She also broke a Meet Record, but not a Championships Record, in the 800 free with an 8:53.09.

The other individual National Record to go down in the meet was in the women’s 400 IM, where Vikte Labanauskaite swam a 4:59.08. That knocked nine-tenths of a second off of her own best time, leaving her as the only Lithuanian woman to ever break five minutes in the event in either short course or long course.

Giedrius Titenis, who was the country’s premier swimming star before Meilutyte’s rise, won both the men’s 100 breaststroke (58.64) and 200 breaststroke (2:07.98), both of which were Meet Records. Titenis, who is generally much better in long course than short course, didn’t have a great meet at the European Championships, but wasn’t bad either. This 200 breaststroke was a better time than he was in Herning, where he fell out in prelims of this race.

Drawing a bit of an American connection, North Carolina State sophomore Simonas Bilis won the men’s 200 free in 1:46.63, which is his lifetime best by seven-tenths of a second (bettering his swim from last week’s European Championships for that status).

Full, live meet results for the event that ends on Saturday are available here.