Steenbergen Rips 58.96 100 Back, Korstanje Solid On Day Two Of Dutch Championships

2025 DUTCH LONG COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, June 12th – Sunday, June 15th
• Amersfoort Arena
• LCM (50m)
• Day 1 Recap
• Live Results
• Livestream

Day two of the 2025 Dutch Long Course Championships brought the heat, with several swimmers notching times good enough to qualify for this year’s World Championships.

Among them was 24-year-old Thomas Jansen who put up a near-lifetime best en route to winning the men’s 400m IM.

Jansen first registered a solid morning swim of 4:16.37 out of the heats, a result which already cleared the World Aquatics ‘A’ standard of 4:17.48 needed for Singapore.

Then tonight, he found a way to drop nearly another second en route to establishing a new championship record of 4:16.37. That represented the 4th-swiftest time of his career, one which boasts a PB of 4:15.33 from the 2024 Eindhoven Qualification Meet.

Also nailing a new championship record was Nyls Korstanje, taking on his bread-and-butter men’s 50m fly event.

This morning’s prelims saw the former NC State Wolfpack swimmer clinch the top seed in a new meet standard of 22.86.

In the evening, he added slightly, but still came away with the gold in 22.93.

Sean Niewold was next to the wall in 23.14 while Thomas Verhoeven rounded out the podium in 23.21.

The World Championships’ A’ cut rests at 23.36, a threshold under which top two finishers Korstanje and Niewold dipped, although Korstanje has already been quicker this season.

He notched a speedy 22.72 at last month’s AP Race International to establish a new Dutch national record and rank #2 in the world.

Niewold also contested the men’s 100m freestyle today, earning both the top seed out of the prelims as well as the overall gold in tonight’s medal-earning race.

In the prelims, 23-year-old Niewold landed lane 4 in a time of 48.42 as one of two sub-49-second swimmers. Joining him was Suriname athlete-turned-Dutchman Renzo Tjon-A-Joe who touched in 48.95.

For his part, Niewold’s morning result checked in as the #2 time of his career, sitting only behind the 48.14 put up in June of last year.

Come tonight’s final, Niewold got the job done in 48.54 while Tjon-A-Joe secured silver in 48.95. Perry Laarhoven bagged the bronze in 50.10.

The men were chasing a World Aquatics ‘A’ standard of 48.34, a benchmark under which only 3 Dutchmen have ever been, including Niewold’s PB.

Following up on his newly minted Dutch record in the men’s 100m back from last night, Kai van Westering doubled up with a win in the 200m back.

Van Westering stopped the clock at 1:57.32 to register a new championship record, beating the pack by nearly 2 seconds in the process.

The 21-year-old Indiana ace opened in 57.57 and closed in 59.75 to clear the World Championships qualifying time of 1:58.07. His result also represented the 4th-best of his career.

Hendrik van der Leest earned runner-up status in 1:59.14 and Niels Dijkshoorn turned in 2:01.80 for the bronze.

Finally, Marrit Steenbergen bypassed today’s 200m IM event in favor of the women’s 100m backstroke.

Already making noise with a head-turning mark of 52.78 in last night’s 100m freestyle, 25-year-old Steenbergen scorched a new lifetime best of 58.96 in the 1back.

Steenbergen split 28.77/30.19 to post her first-ever result under the 1:00 barrier. Entering this competition, Steenbergen’s PB rested at the 1:00.50 logged 2 years ago.

Just like that, however, Steenbergen cleared the World Aquatics ‘A’ benchmark of 1:00.46 to potentially add this event to her lineup for the World Championships. Her result also earned her a new championship record.

Additionally, this ‘non-backstroker’ now ranks 11th in the world on the season.

Maaike de Waard hit 1:00.63 for runner-up, although she was 1:00.19 in the morning to take the top seed. Lotte Hosper wrangled up bronze in 1:01.10.

Additional Notes

• Imani de Jong already won the women’s 800m free last night and tonight won the 400m free in 4:12.61.
• Sprinter Tessa Giele won the women’s 50m breaststroke in 31.91.
• Zinke Delcommune topped the women’s 200m IM in 2:17.85.
• Sander Crooijmans earned gold in the men’s 800m free, posting 8:05.11 for the top spot.