Lina Kačiušytė

Lina Kačiušytė
Personal information
Born	1 January 1963 (age 61); Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing Soviet Union
Olympic Games
World Championships (LC)
Summer Universiade

Lina Kačiušytė (born 1 January 1963 in

Lithuanian SSR) is a Lithuanian swimmer who competed for the Soviet Union, winner of a gold medal in 200 m breaststroke with the Olympic record time of 2:29:54 at the 1980 Summer Olympics

.

Biography

She trained at the

USSR's youth swimming team and, within a year promoted to the USSR National Team. Following another year of hard training, she was ready for the 1978 World Championships of Berlin

.

She surprised everyone by winning the 200 m breaststroke and setting two world records: one in the prelims, defeating world record holder and teammate Yuliya Bogdanova, the second when winning the gold medal in the finals. She set the world record a third time the following year at the USSR vs. DDR Dual Meet in Potsdam, a record that stood from 1979 through 1985 when it was finally broken by East Germany's Silke Hörner. Kačiušytė was the first female breaststroke swimmer to go under the 2 minute 30 second barrier for the 200 meter event.

In 1998 she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.