Ruta Meilutyte, the Plymouth-based Lithuanian Olympic champion, cracked the European record with a storming 1:05.20 victory in the 100m breaststroke on the opening day at the Monte Carlo round of the Mare Nostrum Tour this evening. Out in 30.80, she was a touch slower than any of her three splits at the Olympic Games on the way to gold at 15 last summer in London. However, in the pool under the football pitch in the principality on the Med she came back a touch faster and shaved 0.01sec off her own continental standard, set in the semis at the Games.
