Ruta Meilutyte sets new 50m breaststoke record at World Swimming Championships

Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania celebrates setting a new World Record time of 29.48 in the Swimming Women’s Breaststroke 50m Semifinal heat 2 on day fifteen of the 15th FINA World Championships at Palau Sant Jordi on August 3, 2013 in Barcelona, Spain. (Getty Images)

Barcelona, Aug 4 (IANS): Ruta Meilutyte set her second world record of the World Swimming Championships when she broke the women’s 50 metre breaststroke record in the semifinals here.

The 16-year-old Lithuanian swam a time of 29.48 seconds Saturday to add the 50m record to that she set earlier in the 100m breaststoke.

The former record of 29.78 had been set by Russia’s Yuliana Effimova in the heats only the same morning.

The fact that the 50m breaststroke record has been broken in the heats and the semifinal of the event implies that something special can be expected when Meilutyte and Effimova go head to head in Sunday’s final.

“I got it, what can I say? Two world records in one meet is a dream come true. I’ve been close to records and I am really happy to get a low 29 seconds time,” said Meilutyte.

This is the fifth new world record set here following on from Meilutyte’s 100m record, Effimova’s 50m record and the 200m breaststroke record broken by Rikke Pederson.

Incredibly all of these have come in either heats or semi-finals with Katie Ledecky’s time in the 1,500m freestyle the only record so far to be set in a final.