European Junior Champion Roos Vanotterdijk Downs Nine Belgian Records Over Three Days

2023 FLEMISH SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Friday, February 10th – Sunday, February 12th
• Antwerp, Belgium
• LCM (50m)
• Results

The 2023 Flemish Swimming Championships could have been unofficially re-named ‘The Roos Vanotterdijk Show’ as the 18-year-old Belgian ace ripped 9 national records when all was said and done across the 3-day competition.

The teen who represented Belgium at the 2022 European Junior Championships produced lifetime bests en route to establishing new Belgian standards multiple times in the women’s 100m free, 100m back, 50m free, 50m back and 100m fly.

Her first victim was the 100m free where she ripped a new career-quickest time of 54.72 in the morning heats. That overtook the previous national record of 54.90 Valentine Dumont put on the books at the 2019 World Championships.

However, in the evening final, Vanotterdijk dropped another .21 off her morning mark to win gold in a new record of 54.51. Splits included a 26.11 opener and a back half of 28.40 to get the job done. Her result here demolishes the 55.34 she logged for bronze at last year’s European Junior Championships.

The Belgian now ranks 8th in the world in this event.

The 100m backstroke also saw its national record bite the dust at Vanotterdijk’s hands, as she posted a morning swim of 1:00.08 to land lane 4 for the final. That overwrote the previous national standard of 1:00.90 she established last July to take European Junior Championships silver.

But Vanotterdijk took things up a big notch when the medals were on the line, producing her first-ever sub-minute outing to take the Flemish Championships gold. Opening in 29.09 and closing in 30.53, Vanotterdijk got to the wall in 59.62, becoming the first-ever Belgian woman to get under the 1:00 barrier.

For her efforts, Vanotterdijk now ranks 4th in the world this season.

Vanotterdijk also posted a record-breaking performance in the 50m free, hitting a final time of 25.17. Both that result, as well as her morning swim of 25.29, surpassed the previous Belgian standard of 25.37 Jolien Sysmans has owned since 2012.

Entering this competition, Vanotterdijk’s personal best in this splash n’ dash sat at the 25.80 she put up at the 2020 edition of the Rotterdam Qualification Meet.

The 50m back was another one-lap race which saw its record fall, with Vanotterdijk hitting 27.97 to claim gold. That was another milestone swim, as her time checks in as the first-ever Belgian women’s result under the 28-second threshold. The previous record stood at her own PB of 28.32, which Vanotterdijk already beat with her heats time of 28.06.

This was one more performance which cracked the top 5 performers list on the season, rendering Vanotterdijk as the world’s 5th fastest woman so far.

Finally, the 100m butterfly was Vanotterdijk’s last hoorah, with the teen narrowly getting under her own Belgian record of 57.85. She sliced .03 off of that result from she won gold at the aforementioned European Junior Championships, checking in this morning with 57.82 (26.85/30.97).

Vanotterdijk was slightly slower in the final race, but still clinched gold in 58.28. She also now ranks as the 4th fastest woman in the world this season.