Danas Rapšys (Lithuanian pronunciation: [ˈdaːnɐs rɐpˈɕiːs]; born 21 May 1995) is a Lithuanian swimmer. He is a two-time Olympian, a multiple-time Lithuanian record holder in the men's backstroke, freestyle and butterfly, and a double swimming champion at the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taipei, Taiwan. Rapšys is also a member of Panevežys Žemyna Club, and is coached and trained by Ina Paipelienė.

Danas Rapšys
Personal information
NationalityLithuanian
Born (1995-05-21) 21 May 1995 (age 29)
Panevėžys, Lithuania
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight80 kg (176 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBackstroke, freestyle
ClubPanevėžio Žemyna
CoachIna Šimeliūnaitė-Paipelienė
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  Lithuania
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
World Championships (LC) 0 1 0
World Championships (SC) 1 2 2
European Championships (LC) 1 2 2
European Championships (SC) 3 1 3
Universiade 2 0 1
World Junior Championships 0 2 0
European Junior Championships 1 1 1
European Youth Olympic Festival 0 1 0
Total 8 10 9
World Championships (LC)
Silver medal – second place 2024 Doha 200 m freestyle
World Championships (SC)
Gold medal – first place 2018 Hangzhou 400 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2018 Hangzhou 200 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2021 Abu Dhabi 400 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Abu Dhabi 200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Melbourne 400 m freestyle
European Championships (LC)
Gold medal – first place 2024 Belgrade 4x200 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2024 Belgrade 200 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2018 Glasgow 200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2016 London 200 m backstroke
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Budapest 400 m freestyle
European Championships (SC)
Gold medal – first place 2017 Copenhagen 200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2019 Glasgow 200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2019 Glasgow 400 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2023 Otopeni 400 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Otopeni 200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Otopeni 200 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Copenhagen 200 m backstroke
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2017 Taipei 200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2017 Taipei 200 m backstroke
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Taipei 100 m backstroke
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 2013 Dubai 100 m backstroke
Silver medal – second place 2013 Dubai 4×100 m mixed medley
European Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 Poznan 200 m backstroke
Silver medal – second place 2013 Poznan 100 m backstroke
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Antwerp 200 m backstroke
European Youth Olympic Festival
Silver medal – second place 2011 Trabzon 200 m backstroke

2013 season

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In 2013 he became a European Junior champion. At the 2013 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Rapšys competed in 4×100 metre mixed medley with Rūta Meilutytė, Povilas Strazdas, Eva Gliožerytė. During 4×100 metre mixed medley heats, they finished third with a time of 3:55.74 seconds and qualified to the final. At the 4×100 metre mixed medley final, Meilutyte, Rapšys, Strazdas and Gliožerytė finished second and won silver medal with a time of 3:52.52 seconds. In the 2013 World Aquatics Championships he reached semifinals in the 200m backstroke swimming.[1]

2017 season

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2017 Summer Universiade

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At the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taipei, Taiwan, Rapšys competed in four events: the 100 metre backstroke, 200 metre freestyle, 200 metre backstroke and 4 × 100 m medley relay.

In his first event, 100 m backstroke, Rapšys achieved bronze medal, with a time of 54:17, but narrowly missed out of the silver medal by five hundredths of a second (0.05) behind Japan's Kosuke Hagino.[2] Rapšys won gold medal in the 200 metre freestyle finals, with a time of 1:45.75, and broke the national Lithuanian swimming record.[3] He also competed in the 200 m backstroke final where he sat in 7th through the halfway point, but made big moves on the back half, including a 28.87 on the final 50, to pull ahead of the field for gold in 1:56.52.[4]

2022 season

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At the 2022 World Short Course Championships, contested in December at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Melbourne, Australia, Rapšys won the bronze medal in the 400 metre freestyle with a time of 3:36.26, which was less than two seconds behind gold medalist Kieran Smith of the United States.[5][6] In the 200 metre freestyle on the sixth and final day of competition, he ranked fifth in the preliminaries with a time of 1:42.21 before placing seventh in the final with a time of 1:41.74.[7][8]

Personal bests

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As of 12 August 2019
Long course
Event Time Meet
50 m freestyle 23.16 2015 Dzukija Cup
100 m freestyle 49.04 2019 FINA Swimming World Cup
200 m freestyle 1:44.38 NR 2019 FINA Swimming World Cup
400 m freestyle 3:43.36 NR 2019 FINA Champion Series Budapest
800 m freestyle 7:59.34 NR Swim Open Stockholm 2019
100 m backstroke 53.79 NR 2017 Romanian International Championships
200 m backstroke 1:56.11 NR 2017 World Aquatics Championships
Short course
Event Time Meet
200 m freestyle 1:40.85 NR 2017 European Short Course Swimming Championships
400 m freestyle 3:33.20 NR 2019 European Short Course Swimming Championships
800 m freestyle 7:57.72 NR 2017 Lithuanian Championships (25 m)
100 m backstroke 50.95 NR 2014 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m)
200 m backstroke 1:49.06 NR 2017 European Short Course Swimming Championships
100 m butterfly 50.79 NR 2017 Lithuanian Swimming Federation Cup
200 m butterfly 1:54.35 2017 European Short Course Swimming Championships

International championships (50 m)

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Meet 50 free 200 free 400 free 50 back 100 back 200 back 100 fly 200 medley 4×100 free 4×200 free 4×100 medley 4×100 mixed medley
Junior level
EJC 2012 25th 7th   10th 8th
EJC 2013     4th
WJC 2013 7th   5th  
Senior level
EC 2012 35th 35th 30th
WC 2013 25th 14th 13th
EC 2014 22nd 5th 7th 7th
WC 2015 28th 19th 12th
EC 2016   5th
OG 2016 24th 21st 14th
WC 2017 10th 8th 17th
WUG 2017       7th
EC 2018   29th 13th 12th 4th
WC 2019 8th[a] 4th 15th 11th
EC 2020 4th   9th
OG 2020 8th 13th 33rd 15th[b]
WC 2022 14th 18th 19th[b]
EC 2022 5th 10th 11th
a Rapšys was disqualified in the final.
b Team Lithuania was disqualified in the preliminaries.

International championships (25 m)

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Meet 100 free 200 free 400 free 50 back 100 back 200 back 200 fly 100 medley 200 medley 4×50 free 4×200 free 4×50 medley 4×100 medley
EC 2012 37th DNS 27th 18th
WC 2012 56th 36th 39th 23rd
EC 2013 18th 30th 11th 5th 6th
WC 2014 13th 9th DSQ 7th 11th
EC 2015 21st 10th 4th 21st 6th
WC 2016 18th 22nd 12th 5th 8th
EC 2017 20th     11th 9th
WC 2018 16th     14th 9th 7th
EC 2019     DNS DNS DNS
WC 2021     7th 8th 7th
WC 2022 7th  
EC 2023      

References

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Awards
Preceded by Lithuanian Sportsman of the Year
2019
Succeeded by