17-Year-Old Roos Vanotterdijk Lowers Belgian 100 IM Record Twice In One Day

2022 FINA WORLD CUP – BERLIN

• Friday, October 21 – Sunday, October 23, 2022
• Europa-Sportpark, Berlin, Germany
• SCM (25 meters)
• Start Times
  • Prelims: 8:30 am local / 2:30 am ET
  • Finals: 7:00 pm local / 1:00 pm ET
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results (Omega)
• Live Stream (FINA YouTube)

An incredible year for budding Belgian talent Roos Vanotterdijk continued on Friday, as the 17-year-old broke and then re-broke the national record in the women’s 100 IM.

Vanotterdijk first took hold of the record during the prelims at the FINA World Cup stop in Berlin, clocking 59.54 to erase the previous mark of 59.78. That record also happened to be set during the FINA World Cup in Berlin, done by Kimberly Buys in 2017.

That prelim swim qualified Vanotterdijk third into the final, where she knocked two-tenths off her newly-minted record in 59.34, placing seventh in an elite field.

Split Comparison

Yes, she did it again in the final! Roos Vanotterdijk broke the BR 100 IM short course with a new time of 59.34! Congratulations Roos 🙌🏻👍🏻🔥 #swcberlin @sporza @VlaamseZwemFed @FredVergnoux pic.twitter.com/qEfquUi99q

— BELSWIM (@belswim) October 21, 2022

Vanotterdijk came incredibly close to nabbing two Belgian Records from Buys on the day, coming within a tenth of the mark in the 50 free.

Vanotterdijk clocked 24.89 in the 50 free heats, falling just shy of Buys’ record of 24.80 set at the 2018 World Cup stop in Eindhoven.

Coming into the meet, Vanotterdijk’s best time in the 100 IM was 1:00.66, and in the 50 free it was 25.92.

Her performances on Friday continue what has been an incredible year for the fast-rising 17-year-old, highlighted by her five-medal haul at the European Junior Championships in July. This included a gold medal in the girls’ 100 fly, scoring an upset victory over heavy favorite and defending champion Lana Pudar (also breaking another Belgian Record previously held by Buys).

Vanotterdijk also picked up some senior international experience at the European Championships in August, making the final of the 100 fly (eighth) and earning a trio of semi-final berths in the 100 free (13th), 100 back (14th) and 50 fly (14th).

She’ll be one to watch for the rest of the meet in Berlin, with entries in the women’s 100 back on Saturday and the 100 fly and 200 IM on Sunday.