Swimming-Meilutyte gives controversial rival Efimova the cold shoulder

(refiles to add headline in story, no change in text) By Rod Gilmour KAZAN, Russia (Reuters) - Lithuania's Ruta Meilutyte, the Olympic women's 100 metres breaststroke champion, has refused to be drawn into the controversy over Russian rival Yuliya Efimova's return to the sport after a drug ban. Meilutyte lost her 100m breaststroke world title on Tuesday night after Efimova, competing in a major competition for the first time after serving a 16-month doping ban for taking steroids, secured gold in a compelling race. The Russian overtook the 18-year-old in the closing stages, to the delight of a raucous Kazan Arena, though Meilutyte did not acknowledge her win when the pair rested on the same lane rope. Meilutyte had previously spoken out over Efimova's ban, telling the BBC that she could not see the Russian as "a true honest competitor any more" after the Russian failed an out-of-season test at her Los Angeles training base in 2013. Following Efimova's gold in the Kazan Arena pool, Meilutyte refused to shake her hand, but she remained tight-lipped on Wednesday when asked to comment on the Russian's drug ban. "I'd like not (to) answer questions which aren't related to me and my team," she told reporters. "It's for the best, I guess." She did, however, admit that there was "a bit of tension going on between the girls". Meilutyte finished 0.70 seconds down on Efimova's title-winning time of one minute 05.66 seconds, having expected to dip below 1:06. She said: "It was a pretty intense final, emotionally and physically, maybe I got too excited and didn't finish as well as I was expecting, but I'm quite happy with it and it's a learning experience. "This season has been very good and I was expecting a different time to the one I posted last night. "I guess we have to see how I can do better and improve for next year." Victory propelled Efimova, 23, to a fourth world title victory since 2009, having won gold in the 50m and 200m breaststroke at the 2013 championships and the 50m breaststroke in Rome six years ago. The one-two also set up a second showdown in the 50m breaststroke when the pair go head-to-head this weekend, with Efimova defending her crown. Both are scheduled to race next to each other in the final heat on Saturday. (Editing by Ken Ferris)