At the 2012 Olympic Games, Katie Ledecky wasn’t the only 15-year-old winning a gold medal in the pool.
Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte swam an incredible race in the women’s 100 breast final, out first to the turn at 30.56, just ahead of Breeja Larson of the USA and Yulia Efimova of Russia. As eight of the fastest breaststrokers in the world sped back after the turn, Meilutyte held on to her lead, the gold just a few more strokes away– strokes she had done time and time again in the pool during practice. It was the same motion, only these movements were propelling her to her own, unique spot in history.
The USA’s Rebecca Soni charged down her lane, hot on the youngsters’ heels. But the pool is only 50 meters long, and Soni had run out of room. Meilutyte pushed one more time, hands hurtling towards the wall, and as she felt the texture of the touchpad, the gold was hers. The 15-year-old swam a 1:05.47, after breaking the Lithuanian national record twice (in both prelims and semifinals) and setting the European record in semis, a mark that she has lowered and still holds today.
As the 2016 Olympic Games near, Meilutyte will be back to defend her crown. She’s the 2016 European Champ in this event, and has posted the third fastest time of the season.
uhhhhhhh Bobo is spot on here. Watch for yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_mfkw5OFR4
Soni has a notoriously slow start and this was case and point. She came up half a body length behind Ruta and ended up .08 behind her at the finish. If that doesn’t count as “losing on the start,” then what does?
As you can see at 5:55, lane 6 and 8 are right next to Meilutyte, maybe even a bit in front. In my opinion you can’t win a race at the start, but you can lose it.
I guess I agree with that description. Ruta didn’t win on the start, but Soni lost it on the start. I don’t see how you can watch that video and not arrive at that conclusion.
Meilutyte killed the race with her monster start. Rebecca’s start has always been weak and had too much ground to catch up this time.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but in 100 events, the start doesn’t win or “kill” the race, especially so in 100 breast.
Otherwise swimmers with infamously bad start like Adam Peaty and Cate Campbell would have been nowhere near as dominant. And otherwise swimmers with impossibly great start like Florent Manaudou would have dominated 100 free.
You may have had a point if it were 50 breast.
Ruta did not just “killed” it with the start, she “killed” it with her fast swimming.
#BOBOWNED!
While it may be true what you said about Adam Peaty and Cate Campbell. I really suggest you watch the race with Ruta. It is very clear that it was won on the start. Ruta was a solid body length ahead right off the blocks and by the end Soni was right next to her. It’s not easy to catch up a body length in a 100 breast. Soni was obviously much faster in the water but lost it on the start, there’s no arguing that.
“Soni was obviously much faster in the water?”
I beg to differ. Soni was marginally faster in the water, but not “much faster”. Had she been much faster, she would have won the race hands down, just like Cate or Adam’s domination in their races. After all, 1:05.47 was not that fast.
Bobo Gigi’s assertion was that Ruta “killed” the race with her start. Yes, Ruta always has monster start, but to say that it’s her start that “killed” the race minimizes other aspects of her swimming and undermines her stroke ability. Even if she had been twice faster at the start, she wouldn’t have “killed” the race without her swimming fast for the next 85 meters, and… Read more »