Rasmus Nickelsen Nabs Danish Junior Record In 50 Fly

2021 DANISH OLYMPIC QUALIFIER

• Friday, March 5th to Sunday, March 7th
• DGI Huset, Vejle Swimming Hal, Denmark
• LCM (50m)
• Live Results
• Livestream

The Danish Olympic Qualifier kicked off today at Vejle Swimming Hal, with one record already biting the dust.

Although this meet is not the sole qualification opportunity, the event gives elite athletes an early avenue to adding their name to the aforementioned rosters. The final Olympic roster for Denmark will be selected after the European Championships, while the final European Championships roster will be announced after April’s Danish Open.

Making waves right off the bat was Rasmus Nickelsen in the men’s 50m fly. The just-turned-20-year-old busted out a lifetime best of 23.74 in the morning heats to claim the top seed, establishing a new Danish Junior Record in the process. His previous PB was represented by the 24.10 he notched in 2019.

The prior Junior Record stood at 24.10 from Daniel Andersen in 2013. As such, Nickelsen became Denmark’s first junior swimmer ever to get under the 24-second mark. He nearly repeated the same performance in tonight’s final, hitting the wall in a time of 23.78 to officially claim the gold medal.

Nickelsen is the man who already turned some heads last December as a 19-year-old, establishing a new Danish Senior Record in the short course 100 fly in 50.83. You can read more about that record-breaking swim here.

A close call was seen in the women’s 50m free in terms of Olympic qualification, as Julie Kepp Jensen took the victory in a time of 24.84. That result not only checked in as a new lifetime best by .04, but it also fell just .07 outside of the FINA ‘A’ qualification mark of 24.77 needed to qualify for the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games.

Per the aforementioned qualification time frame, she’ll have time to make this happen over the next few months.

Emilie Beckmann was another top performer from day 1, capturing the 50m fly win in a time of 25.50. That outing was within striking distance of the Danish national record holder by Jeanette Ottesen with the 25.29 she posted back in 2013.

Before this meet, Beckmann’s personal best rested at the 25.72 she posted at the 2018 European Championships to snag the silver medal. Her 25.50 gold medal-worthy performance here now renders the Dane as the 3rd fastest performer in the world this season.