In the swimming world Ruta Meilutyte‘s accomplishments over the last year are well documented and she has been recognized by many for those performances, but it appears in her home country of Lithuania she is even more respected than one may imagine, beating out the President of the country, Dalia Gryabauskaite, Valstybe’s Person of the Year Award.
Valstybe is a popular Lithuanian magazine that is also published in Estonia and Latvia. The magazine has given the award out for the past four years recognizing individuals that have contributed most to the development of an economically and civically strong state.
Meilutyte was selected not only for her achievements in the pool, but her work outside of it for her efforts to give back to the country’s citizens. In the last year Meilutyte started a foundation that helps many families in need. An example of an event run to support the charity was a family swimming competition that was held on December 22nd, organized by the foundation.
Valstybe did not only use their staff to select Meilutyte for the award, but included feedback from a citizens survey. More than 1,000 people voted with 75.5 % of that vote going to teenager who won the 100 breaststroke at the 2013 FINA World Championships and the 2013 European Short Course Championships along with setting the long course 50 and 100 breaststroke world records and the short course 100 meter breaststroke world record.
Meilutyte also beat out Jonas Valanciunas of the NBA’s Toronto Raptors and basketball coach Jonas Kazlauskas for the award.