Ruta Meilutyte, who won 100m breaststroke gold at the 2012 Olympics, has joined the Lithuania national team at a training camp in Tenerife.
Meilutyte, who turns 25 in March, retired in May 2019 with the threat of a suspension hanging over her following three missed doping tests.
However, she has returned to the water and Emilis Vaitkaitis – Secretary General of the Swimming Federation – confirmed she had travelled to the camp.
He told lrytas.lt: “Yes, Ruta is going to camp. After the Lithuanian championship, we talked and decided what to do next. This will be her first attempt to join the national team and try to work a little more seriously.”
The camp runs through until 14 February with eyes on the World Championships which are currently scheduled for Fukuoka, Japan, in May although that appears to be subject to change.
A spokesman added: “I wouldn’t go too far, so far at this stage we want to integrate her into the team, she agreed, so this will be the first try.”