European champion Meilutytė to receive substantial prize money; Alekna gets half

Lithuanian swimmer Rūta Meilutytė clinched the European Championship title in the 50m breaststroke, touching the wall in a thrilling final with a time of 29.93 seconds. The 29-year-old athlete secured the gold medal by a mere 0.01 seconds, with another 0.02 seconds separating her from the third-place finisher in a closely contested race.

As a reward for her championship performance, Meilutytė is set to receive a prize of 22,750 euros. This significant bonus reflects her achievement at the top level of European swimming.

In addition to Meilutytė's success, the championships also saw promising performances from other Lithuanian athletes. Tomas Navikonis, a 23-year-old discovered talent, earned a silver medal in the 200m freestyle. Similarly, discus thrower Mykolas Alekna secured a silver medal at the athletics championships. Both Navikonis and Alekna will receive half the prize money awarded to Meilutytė, amounting to approximately 11,375 euros each.

For comparison, prize money at European and World Championships is typically awarded only for the top three positions. Olympic Games, however, offer prizes for the top eight places, with an Olympic champion receiving a substantially larger sum of 112,850 euros. In the overall medal standings for the swimming championships, Lithuania ranked 14th, while in athletics, they placed 22nd. Both Lithuanian teams comprised 19 athletes.