Roos Vanotterdijk Breaks Belgian 100 Fly Record at Euro Junior Championships

2022 European Junior Championships

• Tuesday, July 5th – Sunday, July 10th
• Otopeni Olympic Swimming Complex, Bucharest, Romania
• LCM (50m)
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  • Prelims: 10 a.m. local / 3 a.m. ET
  • Finals: 5 p.m. local / 10 a.m. ET
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Roos Vanotterdijk broke the Belgian national record in the women’s 100 fly to win gold at the 2022 European Junior Championships Thursday. 

The 17-year-old touched the wall with a time of 57.85 to take down two-time Olympian Kimberly Buys’ record from the 2016 Olympic Games by .06. That time earned Buys’ a spot in the semifinals in Rio where she ultimately placed 14th.

Split Comparison

This is Vanotterdijk’s second Belgian national record of the meet after she broke the record in the 50 back on Tuesday during the semifinals with a time of 28.50. She went on to win bronze in the event.

Vanotterdijk crushed her lifetime best time from 2020 by .45. She had never broken the 58.00 barrier before and has improved significantly in this event since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic which affected racing and training opportunities:

100 fly progression:

• 59.33 (2019)
• 58.30 (2020)
• 58.94 (2021)
• 57.85 (2022)

Originally reported by YanYan Li:

GIRLS’ 100 BUTTERFLY – FINAL

• World Record: 55.48 — Sarah Sjostrom, SWE (2016)
• European Record: 55.48 — Sarah Sjostrom, SWE (2016)
• World Junior Record: 56.43 — Claire Curzan, USA (2021)
• European Junior Record: 56.46 — Target Time
• European Junior Championship Record: 57.39 — Anastasiya Shkurdai, BYS (2019)
• 2021 European Junior Champion: Lana Pudar (BSH) — 57.56

Podium:

1. Roos Vanotterdijk, BEL — 57.85
2. Lana Pudar, BSH — 57.88
3. Julia Ulmann, SUI — 59.39

In a major upset, 17-year-old Roos Vanotterdijk took a substantial amount off her previous best time of 58.30 to win in a new Belgian record time of 57.85. The old Belgian record of 57.91 was set by Kimblerly Buys at the 2016 Olympic Games. She beat out Lana Pudar, who was the defending European Junior Champion in the event and the heavy favorite to win.

Pudar was leading at the 50 meter mark, splitting 27.02 compared to Vanotterdijk’s 27.69. However, Vanotterdijk closed in 30.16 compared to Pudar’s 30.86 back half. Pudar had a good swim for silver though, clocking a time of 57.88 just half a second off her Bosnian record time of 57.37.

Both Pudar and Vanotterdijk were well ahead of bronze medalist Julia Ullmann, who swam nearly two seconds slower in a new best time of 59.39.