It was a few months before the Olympics in Rio in 2016, that Lithuanian Ruta Meilutytė reached rock bottom. She could no longer continue with her challenges with food. She herself calls it an “addiction”, and that addiction had been allowed to grow. She was ashamed to feel the way she did, and needed to say it out loud. When the seamstress first blurted out some words to a trainer, she recalls that she said it like this: “When I eat too much, I make myself sick”. According to Meilutytė, someone in the support system reacted like this: “You got the calories out, at least”. – It was obviously not a good answer to get, says Rūta Meilutytė in the SwimSwam podcast. On Friday, she came forward for the first time about the eating disorder, which started in puberty, and now Ingeborg Vassbakk Løyning says that this is something she has struggled with for many years. In the spotlight Ruta Meilutytė became the youngest Lithuanian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. She did that as a 15-year-old in London in 2012, at the distance of 50 meters breaststroke. BREAKTHROUGH: Meilutytė kisses the gold medal in the London Olympics in 2012. Photo: TIM WIMBORNE / Reuters Last summer she returned to swimming, after a two-year suspension, as a result of failing to appear for three doping tests. Meilutytė claims it happened because she took six months off from swimming after the Rio Olympics in 2016. She wanted to quit. – In 2015 I had an eating disorder that was out of control. I didn’t know what to do, and I was completely alone with it, says Meilutytė. She believes that the sport is one of the reasons why she has developed an eating disorder. When swimming, the body is extra visible. – During puberty, I started getting comments that I seemed heavy, that I had put on weight, and that I should worry about it. I should rather get help from experts in the field. Instead, I only got: “You have to lose weight,” she says. The Lithuanian sewing association writes that they had no idea about the year of sewing. – The association had no information about Rūta’s eating disorder before the podcast. As she is still in the EC, we do not have the opportunity to speak to her. It is a sensitive topic, and we would like to have a conversation outside of competition, sports director Justas Achramavičius writes in an email to news and claims: – It is unknown when this conversation took place, and we cannot know who was involved in the conversation. As soon as she returns from Rome, we will talk to her and assess the situation, write Achramavičius and add that they will propose corrections to the educational program and update instructions in case of a similar problem. news has been in contact with several people in the Lithuanian Swimming Association, but was unsuccessful in getting a reply. Be open The way out was a break from sport, and a focus on meditation and therapy. She said that the meditation was like a kind of self-care, but that what really helped was therapy. And to talk about it. She believes that if more people open up about the topic, others will feel safe when they first find themselves in the situation and seek help. She is clear that no person should have to face such a challenge alone. – When you have this type of addiction, you cannot keep it closed and hidden. Then it grows bigger. It has to come out into the light, because then you have less control over yourself, she says. In the WC earlier this year, she won gold in the 50 meter breaststroke, and during this year’s EC in Rome, she won bronze in the 100 meter breaststroke and gold in the 50 meter breaststroke. Symjaren also set a new personal record over the distance, and became the fourth fastest woman in history. JUBILEE: Meilutytė with her arms high in the air after the European Championship gold was hers. Photo: ANTONIO BRONIC / Reuters – I am grateful to be here. It’s not so much about the time, but more about who I want to be as a person and athlete. To do what is right for me. I am grateful for everything that happened, I can’t say more, Meilutytė told the organizers after the gold race. – Sårt National team athlete Ingeborg Vassbakk Løyning has herself caught up with Meilutytė’s story from the EC in Rome. She thinks it is great that such a big profile is being made about eating disorders. – I know that there are several people in swimming who struggle with the same thing. It’s almost impossible to get away from it, says Løyning to news. A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED: Løyving took part in the 50 metres, 100 meters and 200 meters backstroke in the EC, but the results were not quite as expected. Photo: Fredrik Hagen / NTB – Why is there a challenge in swimming? – Physical cohesion is an important factor in performing, but it is also extremely personal. You are exposed to a lot of skin, and it is very easy for it to become a sensitive topic. – It is both positive and negative. Either it can contribute to increasing the anxiety, or normalize it, she says. She says that she herself has been insecure about her body, but that she is particularly happy that Norway’s national sewing team has such a good support system around her. – I have been young and am a girl myself. But I have an extremely good number of people around me, so in that sense it’s not a big challenge, she says. – How is the Norwegian support apparatus in this regard? – We are good at it. We have an open dialogue, and if you want follow-up, you will get it. They should certainly be praised for that. We receive offers for facilitation in most areas, she says.
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The gold winner must have received a brutal food notice – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
