Rio 2016: Bizarre pre-race rituals of Olympic swimming stars

Santo Condorelli, whose middle finger pre-race ritual has made him a sensation at Rio 2016

Ruta Meilutyte and Tamas Kenderesi

Lithuanian swimmer and London Olympic gold medallist Ruta Meilutyte was 15 years old when she knelt by the pool and scooped up some water with her hands to drink it. However, this is a pre-race routine that the backstroke specialist has forgone at Rio. The reasons behind this could be the concerns over the safety of drinking pool water.

Hungarian Tamas Kenderesi, the 19-year-old men’s 200 meter butterfly winner of bronze, on the other hand did put some water in his mouth before the races at Rio, but he spewed the water out in a spray and did not drink it either.

Edited by Staff Editor