Ruta Meilutyte has retired from swimming at age 22, seven years after becoming the youngest Olympic champion this millennium as the surprise winner of the 100m breaststroke in London.
Meilutyte said she wants to focus on her studies, according to the Lithuanian Swimming Federation. The news comes two weeks after the federation revealed that Meilutyte was facing a ban of up to two years for missing three drug tests between April 2018 and this March.
The federation reported on Sunday that Meilutyte took full responsibility for the missed tests, having failed to update drug testers on her whereabouts.
Meilutyte, who has a clean drug-testing record, last competed in December. She informed the federation of her retirement Tuesday, according to the release.
Meilutyte stunned at the London Games, where she dropped 1.74 seconds off her personal best in the 100m breast prelims, clocking the fastest time of the field. She went even faster in the semifinals and final, upsetting American favorite Rebecca Soni, who had the eight fastest times in the world in 2011.
Meilutyte followed that with gold and silver at the 2013 and 2015 Worlds before dropping to seventh at the Rio Games. She held the 100m breast world record for four years before American Lilly King reset it in 2017.
Meilutyte ranked seventh in the world last year, when she revealed she had suffered depression since 2016, according to O Globo.
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