Lithuanian Swimmer Meilutytė Eyes Semi-Finals After Strong Opening Day at European Championships
Lublin, Poland – Lithuanian swimming star Rūta Meilutytė succinctly described the feeling heading into her key event: “the finish. But in the evening it’s a different feeling, it’s also the semi-final, so everything should be better.” meilutytė is among four Lithuanian swimmers set to compete in Saturday evening’s semi-finals and final at the European Championships in Lublin, signaling a strong performance for the national team thus far.
The European Championships represent a crucial possibility for athletes to gauge their progress and secure qualifying times for the upcoming Olympic Games. Lithuania has already celebrated notable successes, including a bronze medal for Kotryna Teterevkova in the 200m breaststroke and a national record-breaking performance by Tomas Lukminas in the 100m crawl. Tho, the team has also faced challenges with illness impacting participation, as Jokūbas Keblys and Teterevkova were forced to withdraw from events.
lukminas’s achievement of completing the 100m crawl in under 46 seconds was lauded by fellow Lithuanian swimmer A.Šidlauskas as “somthing ‘wow’ for Lithuania” in such a prestigious competition. Šidlauskas himself is preparing for a semi-final appearance.
Saturday’s schedule includes semi-final appearances for Meilutytė, Šidlauskas, and M.Kaušpėdas, alongside Lukminas competing in the 100m freestyle final. All events are scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. local time. Teterevkova will not participate in the 50m breaststroke due to lingering effects from a fever experienced Friday. Keblys is limited to his mixed relay performance from earlier in the week.
