Lithuanian Olympic champion Ruta Meilutyte is facing a possible 2-year suspension for missing doping tests, per her nation’s swimming federation.
Meilutyte reportedly missed 3 drug tests over a 1-year span, which violates the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) testing protocol. According to Article 2.4 of the World Anti-Doping Code, the athlete’s three missed tests and (or) a combination of the lack of notification of cases, as defined in the international standard for testing and research, during the twelve-month period is considered anti-doping rule violation.
In accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code and the Lithuanian Anti-Doping Rules, athletes must provide accurate information about their whereabouts and comply with their location requirements. Such information must be provided in the Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS).
Per the posting on the federation’s website, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist missed tests on April 22, 2018, August 29, 2018 and March 28, 2019.
Although the actual punishment is still yet to be announced, facing a 2-year ban, or even a 1-year ban, would relegate the now 22-year-old to the sidelines come the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
We have seen other recent cases of missed doping tests, to the tune of Aussie swimmers Thomas Fraser-Holmes, Maddie Groves and Jarrod Poort. Of the 3, TFH received a 12-month suspension, as did Poort, while Groves was cleared with no punishment.
Says Kristina Jagminiene, Director of the Anti-Doping Agency of the Republic of Lithuania, “Our practice shows that, unfortunately, very often athletes refuse and irresponsibly fill their data, thinking that it doesn’t matter. Negligence and irresponsibility can lead to changes in the athlete’s career that can be financially and morally responsive. We doubt that people will go deeper about why an athlete is disqualified. Violation of anti-doping sanctions will remain the whole career future. The case of each athlete is different, so the verdict draws attention to mitigating and aggravating circumstances. The most severe sanction is disqualification for up to two years. Anti-doping rules are strict and must be followed by everyone.”
Meilutyte has made several coaching changes since her gold medal-winning run in London. After her long-time coach at Plymouth Leander in Great Britain, Jon Rudd, moved on to take Irish Swimming’s performance director role, Meilutyte moved back to Lithuania to train under the guidance of Paulius Andrijauskas, a former Olympic butterfly swimmer and the vice-president of Lithuanian Swimming Federation.
That move didn’t last long, however, as the 20-year-old traveled to Australia to take up some temporary training and competition before trying out Team Elite in San Diego for a stint earlier this year.
Meilutyte moved to train under Coach Dave Salo, where she had planned to stay through Tokyo 2020.
In April of last year, Meilutyte told Brazilian site Globo Esporte that she has suffered from depression since 2016.
Updated since original publishing: Coach Dave Salo tells SwimSwam, “Missing a test is the athlete’s responsibility, but no one from WADA or USADA have come to our deck in the past six months that I am aware looking to test.” Additionally, Meilutyte is “not currently training with Salo nor Trojan Swim Club.”
My heart goes out to Ruta, if what’s been said here about her struggles is true. Hoping she comes out the other side of this healthy and well-supported.
Somewhat related (they both burst onto the international scene at exactly the same time), I’ve long thought that the most remarkable thing about Katie Ledecky is not her athletic ability (which… obviously is superlative) but rather her mental health – her outlook on sport and life. She’s never let her past self and weight of her accomplishments be the enemy of her current self. I marvel at her refusal to look at any athletic barrier, including/especially her own PRs, as holy – but even more so at her ability to completely… Read more »
She is done leave the poor girl alone already!!!!!!
Meilutyte’s story is one more example that doping isn’t a victimless crime. After losing to Efimova at her home World Championships Ruta went through serious psychological stress and hasn’t been never again same young record holding champion.
What home championships? Rute peaked pre puberty & already on a weights program & targeted breastroke regimen .A body change post 2013 that was it . Rudd was already making excuses in 2015 & then went over the top about her mental state in Kazan.
Many if not all girls go thru hard times when they fully realise what the loss of a mother means . We don’t know but she also have lost her grandmother who raised her till she was sent to England .
Sports can cover but not fulfil a girls needs .
Kazan was home world championships for Efimova. We know that she was already using peds that would be prohibited in 6 months. She knew that she was cheating because she told that was using this drug for special still undisclosed health reason. Kazan was just one year after Sochi and we have all reason to believe that cover up continued at this another Russian home meet. At least that is what Ruta painfully felt about Efimova and her win in final race.
Lmao .I just had a re read of all the stuff 2016 & some revised blah blah . It’s hilarious . The reason wada banned it was at the Eurogames in Baku 469 athletes used it & therefore it was proof they were trying to get a PED effect . Eurogames includes many non Olympic but popular sports in Eastern Europe .
Since then I see no Gold Silver or Bronze standard studies on this drug in the West . I checked out the price & it has risen to $1.50 Aust per pill . It was only $1 last I looked. I really am going to get some & shall report back . If it does 30% of… Read more »
I’ve never tried it but I don’t think Efimova took this pills (is it in form of a pill) because they are tasty or sweet like a candy. So in addition of being cheater she is also a moran by taking “PED” that does nothing (by your statement). I think she prefers, at least used to be called a cheater who doesn’t care about others opinion fooling everybody around than to be called a fool.
It was not a PED when she & millions of others took it . It’s like some Europeans do homeopathy & offer different therapeutics e.g. Interferon & proton radiation not known in the UK.
The problem is there are no western studies except to say don’t take it because bad.I only the millions of women who were prescribed Hormone Replacement Therapy in the 80s90s in the West for Menapause did not take it on med & advice .They would not have had a breast cancer epidemic . No one can point to anything bad about the Latvian produced pill except Wada being political.
If it works as they say then it is very very cheap & should be widely… Read more »
Meilutyte is not a victim of Efimova’s doping violation – Efimova is.
I don’t think that the reason we prohibit doping is because it harms competitors’ psychological states – So does garden variety superior ability, or access to olympic-level coaching from a young age. Unfair advantages abound in sport!
The problem with doping is that it is good in the short term but very bad in the long term for the athlete herself. Because it confers a real advantage, once a few athletes do it, others are forced to follow or they will fall behind. But steroid use has long-term, irreversible and devastating side effects on the dopers themselves. Sport governing body must be vigilant and commit to significant sanctions… Read more »
Meilutyte’s coach almost declared her a psychopath after Kazan. In Rio she was less concerned about her weak performance, but was glad and congratulated King with the win over Efimova. She got broken in Kazan and didn’t fully recovered.
As SUM TING WONG noted there was ongoing physical body transformation with maturity but still things could go quite different should she was better prepared psychologically with the belief in fair competition.
Please share a link about the story of her coach after Kazan, thank you.
This story was discussed very thoroughly at the swimvortex.com site, that is closed now. I believe that archives still exist but the access isn’t free.
i’m not saying that it’s not demoralizing to competitors to learn that a gal doped. I’m not saying I believe M. doped There is good info on this thread that should have included in the article
But it is not about “fair” and “unfair” competition. doping is bad not because it’s “unfair” but because it is short-term good but long-term bad for the athletes.
it’s not “fair” that some athletes can afford olympic-level coaching, facilities, training trips to altitude, better nutrition for their whole lives. it’s unfair that some have higher naturally-occurring levels of certain performance-enhancing chemicals. it’s not fair that some athletes have the larger or the smaller feet and hands and wingspans.
the problem with doping… Read more »
According to Lithuanian media, she felt uncomfortable early in March, stopped training and went back to Lithuania without informing anyone. Even the Lithuanian swimming federation knew little about her condition at that time. The checking results from the doctor suggested there was nothing too serious with her body, but she still made no plan about returning to competition and still kept away from training. Her third missing test fell exactly in that period. The Lithuanian swimming federation had a talk with her in late March, and signed a ‘contract’ with her which required her to go back to competition no later than May.
She also took a long time off last year and went travelling, which might be able… Read more »
As much as we’re concerned about doping it seems that we should be equally concerned about athletes mental health.
To be good swimming has to be your only focus (there are exeptions), but the struggle after swimming or a big achievement is real.
Almost seemed better before pro swimming, because you did it in Uni, got an education and had a bit of a path after. Now you finish your pro career after 2-10 years and what do you do?
Unfortunate, will taint her legacy and those she has worked with. See Rudd distanced himself quickly, with a now deleted tweet “not on my watch”.
Maybe deleted because he realized the tweet is too harsh for someone struggling with depression, to the point she doesn’t care about the sport she loved, her legacy, etc etc.
I’m sure it was deleted for that very reason, but still an interesting post in the moment.
I don’t know any other young Olympic champion who had such tough and difficult motherless childhood. And her bad luck continued getting under complete control of insensitive coach who didn’t have any clue what it is to be an emigrant without language being alone all the time. I will never forgive him when at coaches clinic he blamed all the failure at World Championships on Ruta and took no personal responsibility.
Could someone link me an article about this? Haven’t heard about this, I am interested
Agreed
He’s a good coach but he always seems more in it for himself than for the athletes. He never fails to get his name out there and make sure he’s quoted in every article possible. it’s great for profile raising but I just don’t think he’s ever had his athletes’ best interests at heart from a holistic perspective. I say this as someone who has met him and worked with him on multiple occasions. A supportive message for his former athlete would have said a lot more about him than being so quick to distance himself from this situation… or nothing at all!
She was tested multiple times. She hasn’t had any races lately, so doping wouldn’t make any sense. She just doesn’t’ care anymore. Her instagram page was very dark before it got deleted. Clearly she isn’t interested in sport community anymore. She is very depressed and needs help.
Instagram account deleting is very bad. Phelps do correctly retiring after 2012 olympics with depression.
This is an important comment. It does appear from the outside that Meilutyte is not interested in swimming anymore. Should have retired rather than just not doing her paperwork.
Indeed- this would be a sad way to end a great career…and not help her depression. Hope she is OK.
The Lithuanian Swimming Federation won’t let her go so easily. When she refused to go back to training and competition earlier this year, the federation had a talk with her and urged her to ‘get back on track’. They even signed a contract with her which required her to return to competition no later than May. When your country is not strong at swimming and you are one of the very few hopes for them, you are not very free in making your own choices.
That’s what’s sad about this sport and the pressure it puts on top athletes
Well, if this is true then missing tests could be a a way to eventually get a ban and not have to swim. Her dealing with depression sure would not have gotten better with additional pressure from the federation one would guess…
sad news 🙁 haaate to say it, but she’s probably dirty.. you don’t just miss multiple tests
haaate to say it, but what probably dirty is that’s your mouth.