Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania became the youngest swimmer to ever win the women’s 100m breaststroke, just edging out Rebecca Soni of Team USA at the wall Monday at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The 15-year-old held a significant lead at the turn, but was chased down hard over the final 50 meters by Soni. A few more meters and Soni might have had gold, but Meilutyte (1:05.47) held on to beat the American by 0.08 seconds.
Women’s 100m Breaststroke Final: 15-Year-Old Ruta Meilutyte Wins Gold, Rebecca Soni Takes Silver
Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte became the youngest swimmer to ever win the women’s 100m breaststroke, just edging out Rebecca Soni of Team USA at the wall Monday at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Japan’s Satomi Suzuki earned bronze, but was nearly a full second back from from Meilutyte. Breeja Larson, the other American in the race, took sixth place with a time of 1:06.96 seconds. She was nearly disqualified after seemingly committing a false start. Judges ruled that the starter malfunctioned, however, giving Larson another chance to come off the block cleanly.
With the win, Lithuania now has its first medal of the 2012 Olympics. Soni is also competing in the 200m breaststroke, 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x100m IM relay.
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