Thea Blomsterberg Blasts 2:22.61 200 Breast To Rank #1 In The World This Season

2023 DANISH OPEN

• Saturday, April 1st – Tuesday, April 4th
• Bellahøj Swimming Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark
• LCM (50m)
• Start Lists
• SwimSwam Preview
• Results

The 2023 Danish Open concluded last night but not before 21-year-old Thea Blomsterberg made some major noise in the women’s 200m breaststroke.

Blomsterberg blasted a time of 2:22.61 to take the gold, producing a new lifetime best in the process.

Opening in 1:09.09 and closing in 1:13.52, Blomsterberg’s winning outing crushed her previous lifetime and season-best of 2:24.47. That prior PB was produced just last month at a domestic meet.

She’s inching closer to Rikke Pedersen‘s longstanding 2breast national record of 2:19.11 that’s been on the books since 2013.

Blomsterberg’s result dips under the World Aquatics ‘A’ standard of 2:25.91 needed to qualify for this summer’s World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. In fact, her 2:22.61 time here would have rendered her the silver medalist last year in Budapest.

Blomsterberg now ranks #1 in the world, beating out Japan’s Reona Aoki who previously wore the crown with her 2:23.12 from the Kosuke Kitajima Cup in January.

Also clearing a World Championships-worthy mark was Helena Rosendahl Bach in the women’s 200m fly.

Bach punched a result of 2:08.82 to get to the wall over 4 seconds ahead of the next-closest competitor. In doing so, she cleared the ‘A’ standard of 2:09.21 needed for Fukuoka.

Bach competed in this 2fly event at the 2022 World Championships where the 22-year-old placed 7th with a time of 2:08.12. She claimed silver at last year’s European Championships with a result of 2:07.30, her national record.

Additional Notes

• Caspar Pugaard clocked a new Danish Junior Record in the men’s 100m fly, hitting 52.41 in the prelim (24.21/28.20). The teen added slightly in the final but still won gold in 52.50.
• The women’s 200m IM also saw a Danish Junior Record go down, courtesy of Martine Damborg. She posted a winning result of 2:15.86.
• Emilie Beckmann was the fastest women’s 50m flier, registering a winning time of 25.23. That dipped under the ‘A’ standard of 26.32 for this summer’s World Championships.
• Although she missed qualification, Signe Bro bagged 2 golds in the freestyle events. She touched in 54.75 in the 100m free and 1:59.13 in the 200m free.