2016 Eindhoven Swim Cup Preview

2016 Eindhoven Swim Cup (Dutch Championships)

• Wednesday April 6th-Sunday April 10th
• Prelims -12:00 pm local (6:00 am EDT/3:00 am PDT); Finals – 9:00 pm local (3:00 pm EDT/12:00 pm PDT)
• Psych Sheets and Results

The 2016 Eindhoven Swim Cup, which also acts at the Dutch Olympic trials, will include many of the top athletes from the Netherlands, Belgium, Serbia, Germany and Denmark.

Olympic champion Ranomi Kromowidjojo will be swimming the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle and 50 butterfly. Kromowidjojo currently sits 10th in the world in the 50 freestyle (24.73) and fourth in the world in 100 freestyle (53.31). Finishing in the top two and under the Olympic qualifying times of 25.28 and 54.43 will not be much of a challenge, but putting up times that match the likes of Cate Campbell, Bronte Campbell and Sarah Sjöström will be the goal.

Kromowidjojo has traditionally swum well at this meet posting her lifetime best of 52.75 in the 100 freestyle in Eindhoven four years ago.

Her biggest competition in the freestyle events will come from fellow countrywoman Femke Heemskerk, who had a tremendous year in 2015 setting new Dutch records in both the 100 freestyle (52.69) and the 200 freestyle (1:54.68). Heemskerk also comes into the competition with a lifetime best time of 24.57 in the 50, which she also recorded last year.

Heemskerk has performed well at this meet in the past putting up all three of her lifetime bests at this meet a year ago.

Jeanette Ottesen of Denmark will also swim the 100 freestyle and 50 butterfly. The fastest Ottesen has been in the 100 freestyle in the last four years has been a 53.89 that she posted at the Swim Cup in 2014. The Dane will most likely not provide much of a challenge in the freestyle event, but she and Kromowidjojo should have a good battle in the 50 butterfly.

Ottesen comes in with a season’s best of 25.81 while Kromowidjojo has put up a 26.00 earlier this year.

Kimberly Buys of Belgium will also be in the mix in the 50 butterfly, but will be focusing more on the 100 where she is going in as the top seed and will be shooting for the FINA A standard of 58.74. Buys went under the FINA A standard last year  recording a lifetime best of 58.36 in Kazan.

Moniek Nijhuis and Dane Rikke Møller Pedersen will go head to head in the sprint breaststroke events. Nijhuis comes in with a textile best of 30.61 in the 50 and a 1:07.18 in the 100. Pedersen has a best of 30.57 in the 50 and a 1:05.93 in the 100. Both women had mixed results at the World Championships last summer after achieving podium finishes at the European Championships a year earlier.

Pedersen should be the run away winner in the women’s 200 breaststroke.

German Jenny Mensing is the clear favourite in the women’s 100 and 200 backstroke. Mensing comes into the competition with a best time of 59.85 in the 100 and a 2:08.30 in the 200.

Young Dutch star Marrit Steenbergen is improving at an extremely fast rate and will be one to keep an eye on. Steenbergen is entered in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle, the 50 and 100 backstroke as well as the 200 IM.

Men’s Events

European championship double gold medalist Velimir Stjepanovíc will highlight the men’s events. The Serbian will be competing in the 100, 200 and 400 freestyle. Sebastiaan Verschuren will look to not only challenge Stepanovíc for the gold in the 100 and 200 freestyle, but will also be looking to swim under the FINA A standard of 48.99 and 1:47.97.

Martin Brzoskowski will be gunning for Stepanovíc in the 400 freestyle, but will be more concerned about going under the FINA A standard of 3:50.40.

Belgian Pieter Timmers will also challenge in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle events. 

German Steffen Deibler will be a strong favourite in the 50 and 100 butterfly events. Deibler finished eighth in the 50 and fifth in the 100 last summer in Kazan. He will be challenged Joeri Verlinden, who is looking to qualify for his second Olympic Games. Verlinden will need to go under the FINA A time of 52.36, something he has done six times over the last four years.

Serbian Čaba Siladji and Henrik Feldwehr of Germany will battle for the 50 and 100 breaststroke titles.

32 year old George Bovell will be competing in both the 50 freestyle and 50 breaststroke.