Tes Schouten Clocks 1:05.71 To Reset Dutch 100 Breast On Final Day In Eindhoven

2023 Eindhoven Qualification Meet

• April 6th – April 10th
• Eindhoven, the Netherlands
• LCM (50m)
• Results
• Day 1 Recap
• Day 2 Recap
• Day 3 Recap

Dutch dominance was on display during the final day of competition at the 2023 Eindhoven Qualification Meet on Sunday where five out of the seven swimmers who beat FINA ‘A’ qualifying times were from the Netherlands. This was the second opportunity for swimmers to earn a spot at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. Although, they will have until April 23rd to beat their respective qualifying times and punch their tickets.

Germany’s Sven Schwarz kicked off the session by blasting a lifetime-best 400 free time of 3:47.57 to win gold. The former 800 free world junior record holder was the only swimmer under 3:50.00 as well as the only one under the FINA ‘A’ cut (3:48.15), but he didn’t quite crack the DSV qualifying time (3:46.78). This swim was almost a sprint compared to the 1500 free final that Schwarz won earlier. In fact, some might have expected him to race the 800 free on Sunday (his best time would have won the final by 25 seconds), but he chose to focus on the 400 and it paid off. His time ranks him 10th in the world so far this season. 

Schwarz was the only German swimmer under a FINA ‘A’ cut on the final night of competition, but a slew of Dutch gold medal winners soon joined him. Tes Schouten, fresh off her Dutch national record-setting 200 breast on Friday, lowered the women’s 100 breast record in the prelims in a time of 1:05.71, bettering the 1:05.92 she swam last month. Schouten then won the final in 1:05.96 by three seconds, well under the the FINA ‘A’ standard of 1:07.35.

Schouten’s prelim time ranks her first in the world this season, overtaking Japan’s Reona Aoki who swam a 1:05.89 earlier this week:

Dutch national record holder Arno Kamminga was on fire in the men’s 100 breast, blasting a 59.68 to win the event and beat the FINA ‘A’ standard of 59.75. This was a strong swim for Kamminga who got out-touched in the 50 breast earlier in this meet. In the 100, he was about .8 off his season-best time from the Rotterdam Qualification Meet in December (58.90) which ranks him third-fastest in the world this season.

Two-time Olympian Marrit Steenbergen stole the show in the women’s 50 free final after a tight battle with her Dutch teammate Kim Busch. Steenbergen hit the wall first at 24.42, about .4 ahead of second-place finisher Busch (24.85) and third-place finisher Jessica Felsner (24.95). Busch and Steenbergen cleared the FINA ‘A’ cut of 25.04, but it took a 24.70 to make the German qualifying standard, meaning Felsner was just .25 off. 

The men’s 50 free had an upset when Dutch Olympian Thom de Boer placed third in a time of 22.15, about .13 slower than his prelims time. Kenzo Simons and Surinamese Olympian Renzo Tjon A Joe rose to the challenge though, placing first and second in times of 21.81 and 21.88, respectively. Overall, the prelims were faster for all members of the podium. In the morning session, Simons blasted a 21.91 and Tjon A Joe swam a 22.11. In finals, both gold and silver medal-winning times beat the FINA ‘A’ standard of 22.12

In the women’s 50 fly final, it was Maaike de Waard who hit the wall first in a time of 25.94, winning the sprint race by more than .80, and crushing the FINA ‘A’ cut (26.32). The Dutch swimmer was about one-third of a second off her personal best time of 25.62 from the 2022 European Championships. In the men’s race, Czech National Teamer Daniel Gracik won the open final in 23.52, squeaking under the  FINA ‘A’ cut by .01 and out-touching his teammate Jan Seff who finished second by .23.

Sunday also saw the demise of para-swimming records and Dutch Junior records on the women’s side. First, Florianne Bultje cracked the Dutch S9 record in the 50 fly with a time of 31.17. She did it again half an hour later in the 50 free where she hit the wall first in a time of 28.86, taking down the previous Dutch record. Notably, the 50 free ‘B’ final saw a Dutch junior record go down when 14-year-old Rosalie Reef placed 15th in a time of 26.30.

Other Day 4 Event Winners

• Portuguese 20-year-old Francisca Soares Martins crushed the women’s 400 free final with a time of 4:11.10, coming within .6 of the ‘A’ cut.
• In the men’s 400 free, Bas Takken of the Netherlands (S10) took down the para final in a time of 4:11.75. 
• In the men’s 50 fly, Dutch swimmer Bram Daalman (S14) won the para final by more than 4 seconds in a time of 27.63. 
•  Lisa Kruger (SB9) secured another gold medal for the Dutch by winning the women’s 100 breast in 1:15.72, finishing 17 seconds ahead of the field. Soon after, Thomas van Wanrooij (SB13) won the men’s 100 breast para final in 1:07.20 and then won a silver medal in the 50 free final (25.24). Gold went to Thijs van Hofweegen (S6) who hit the wall with a time of 30.62.
• While no one cracked the sub-eight-minute DSV standard in the men’s 800 free (7:53.11), the top three finishers, all from Germany, hit the wall within 3 seconds of each other: Levin Peschlow (8:12.66), Moritz Bockes (8:13.00), and Noah Lerch (8:14.98).
• German open water star Jeannette Spiwoks held the early lead in the women’s 800 free, but after the 500-meter mark, Dutch Serena Stel began to make her move and close what was a two-second gap at the time. Spiwoks ultimately finished first (8:44.44), but not much ahead of Stel in second (8:45.59). They both missed the ‘A’ standard (8:37.90) and Spiwoks missed the faster DSV standard of 8:26.71.