Smiltė Plytnykaitė (born 8 January 2007) is a Lithuanian swimmer. She is a World Junior champion, a multiple European Junior champion, and a national record holder.
Biography Plytnykaitė was born in Nemenčinė to Sandra Plytnykienė and Justinas Plytnykas; she has a younger brother, Joringis. She attended and graduated from Vilnius Antakalnis Gymnasium.
In Lithuania, she formerly trained at the Sostinės sporto centras in Vilnius under coach Kęstutis Steponavičius. She rose to prominence in the Lithuanian swimming community in 2019, when at the age of 12, she broke two girls' under-13 national records previously held by Rūta Meilutytė. In the fall of 2026, she moved to the United States to study and compete for the Virginia Cavaliers at the University of Virginia.
Career
2022 Plytnykaitė had a breakthrough performance at the 2022 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. She won four medals in total: gold in the girls' 100-metre freestyle and the girls' 4×100-metre freestyle relay, silver in the mixed 4×100-metre freestyle relay, and bronze in the girls' 50-metre freestyle.
2023 At the European Junior Swimming Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, she won the gold medal in the girls' 100-metre freestyle. The same year, she set the Lithuanian senior national record in the 100-metre freestyle with a time of 54.74 seconds.
2024 During the European Junior Championships held in Vilnius, Plytnykaitė claimed gold in the 50-metre breaststroke and silver in the 100-metre breaststroke. She also won a bronze medal as part of the Lithuanian mixed 4×100-metre medley relay team.
2025 At the European Junior Championships in Šamorín, Slovakia, she secured two more gold medals, becoming the champion in both the 50-metre and 100-metre breaststroke events. She added a bronze medal in the girls' 4×100-metre medley relay.
The same year, at the World Junior Swimming Championships held in Romania, Plytnykaitė claimed the World Junior Champion title in the 100-metre breaststroke and won a silver medal in the 50-metre breaststroke.
References
External links Smiltė Plytnykaitė at World Aquatics