Ruta meilutyte biography of michael jackson

President Barack Obama

Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC

August 2,

Dear Mr. President:

Coming up on three years ago, I wrote you an “open letter” critical of your decision to send to the Sochi Winter Games an official White House delegation that did not include yourself, the First Lady, the vice president nor, indeed, any member of your cabinet.

On Tuesday, the White House announced that Secretary of State John Kerry will head the White House delegation to the Rio Summer Games.

Mr. President, I cannot emphasize strongly enough how much I respect you personally as well as the office you hold. I voted for you twice. If I could, I would vote for you again this November. I believe history will treat you kindly — that, with time, you will come to be seen as what you truly are and have been, one of our greatest presidents in more than years.

With all that said, sir:

Please permit me the opportunity to address you in another “open letter,” mindful that I am grateful to call home a country where I may give voice to criticisms and that, as well, any such criticisms relate solely to matters of policy. In no way are they personal.

The announcement that Secretary Kerry will lead the delegation underscores the futility and hypocrisy inherent in what the White House tried to do — with, at best, limited impact — in connection with the Sochi Games.

Can we — you, me, all of us — acknowledge now the truth of the matter?

That what the White House sought in was to leverage the spotlight of the Olympic Games to exploit the American position in dealing with the Russians, in particular Mr. Putin, while simultaneously expressing considered frustration, if not more, with the International Olympic Committee?

And to what purpose?

The record is plain.

In October , you and the First Lady went to Copenhagen to lobby the IOC for Chicago’s Summer Games bid.

In retrospect, we can perhaps observe it might be all to the good that Chicago did not win. Imagine, Mr. Preside

FUKUOKA, Japan (AP) — Here’s why Katie Ledecky is one of the greatest freestyle swimmers in the history of the sport: She is never quite satisfied.

The year-old American won the meter freestyle on Saturday at the world championships to become the first swimmer to win six golds in the same event at worlds. It was also her 16th individual world title, breaking a tie with Michael Phelps for the most golds at worlds.

She also is a seven-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in both the and 1,

But that winning time — 8 minutes, seconds, which is the seventh-quickest she’d ever swum — wasn’t quite good enough in her favorite event.

“I’m just always trying to think of new ways to improve. I mean I’ve already got everything turning in my head right now. I kind of wanted to be better than I was tonight,” she said, twirling her right hand beside her right ear, trying to stir up ideas.

“I’m pretty tough on myself,” she said. “But I think I have found the balance of being tough on myself but also having that grace.”

The was Ledecky’s second individual gold following her win in the 1, free on Tuesday. She also took silver in the free. Li Bingjie of China took silver in , and Ariarne Titmus of Australia got the bronze in

“It’s fun to leave a meet with your favorite event, and I just wanted to leave it all in the pool,” Ledecky said.

It was only the fourth gold for the United States in the seventh of eight days in the pool. Meanwhile, Australia has been piling it on with 13 golds, matching its best at the worlds. Australia won three more golds on Saturday.

The Americans lead the overall table with 31 medals (16 silver), Australia has 20 and China

Kaylee McKeown of Australia made history of her own with gold in the women’s backstroke. McKeown’s victory gave her a sweep of all three backstroke events after earlier wins in the 50 and She became the first swimmer to sweep all three backstrokes at the worlds.

It all made up for her disqualification earl

Background Lithuanian born swimmer, Rūta Meilutytė, has the distinction of being the first and only swimmer in history to win all achievable swimming titles in all age groups. In , at just 13 years old, she broke her first Lithuanian swimming record in both the women’s 50 meter and meter breaststroke. Born in Kaunas, Lithuania on March 19, to Sauilus Meilutis and Ingrida Meilutienė. At the age of four, Ruta’s mother was killed in a car accident. While her father lived abroad, Ruta was raised by her grandmother until she reached her teens. Ruta begin swimming at the age of seven and while she is not considered tall, her feet have always been like flippers, now wearing a size 44 shoe, which is equivalent to a size 13 women’s in the United States. In , she moved to Plymouth, England (the south west of England), with her father, a nurse for people with different abilities, and her two brothers, Margiris (age 20), a law student, and Mindaugas (age 24). Meilutyte first burst on to the scene in when she broke the Lithuanian records in the two sprint breaststrokes at just 13 years old. International Competition Olympics In , Meilutyte became the …

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Sarah Sjöström won her 21st career medal in individual races in the world championships, surpassing Michael Phelps' 20 for the record with a victory in the women's meter freestyle Sunday.

The Swedish swimmer, who set the world record in the semifinals Saturday, powered home in the final 25 meters for the win, clocking -- only one-hundredth of a second away from her world-record effort the day before.

"I'm super happy with that. It was very busy yesterday, with the world record and the gold medal," said Sjöström, who won a fifth straight world title in the 50 butterfly on Saturday.

It was another of Phelps' longstanding records that fell on the final day of worlds. Katie Ledecky broke a tie with Phelps by winning a record 16th individual gold Saturday in the freestyle, while French youngster and potential Paris Olympics star Leon Marchand set the world record in the men's meter individual medley last Sunday to break the last individual mark that Phelps had held from his illustrious swimming career.

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Shayna Jack of Australia picked up the silver in the 50 free in , while Zhang Yufei of China earned the bronze in

Summer McIntosh, the year-old Canadian who also promises to be a star in Paris next year, won her second gold medal of worlds by taking the women's meter individual medley in

The victory for McIntosh, the world-record holder in the event, added to her win in the butterfly Friday.

McIntosh seized the lead in the opening leg and won going away, recording the third-fastest time in history. American Katie Grimes took the silver in , with Jenna Forrester of Australia picking up the bronze in

"Going into tonight, I just wanted to see how hard I could push myself seeing as the individual medley is such a hard event," McIntosh said. "It's very strategic, so just learning more and more each time I swim."

McIntosh got off to a slow start at the championships, fini