Ruta Meilutyte retires after missing doping tests

The Lithuanian won the 100m breaststroke at the Olympic Games at the age of 15 in 2012 before striking gold at the World Championship in Barcelona a year later.

"I am ready to start a new chapter of my life. Thank you all who supported me on this road," said Meilutyte.

The 22-year-old had never missed a drugs test, but was facing a suspension of two or three months for missing the doping test which would have ruled her out of next year's Tokyo Olympic Games.

Meilutyte apparently won 20 gold medals in her career with her last event coming at the short-course World Championships in Hangzhou, China last December, an event she failed to qualify for.