Roos Vanotterdijk broke the Belgian women's 100 metre butterfly record in the final of the European swimming championships in Belgrade on Friday.
Vanotterdijk completed the race in 57.47, breaking her own record of 57.82. She also took home a gold medal for the 100 metre butterfly, and silver in the 50 metre butterfly. Sweden's Sara Junevik, who won gold in the 50 metre, was overtaken by Vanotterdijk in the final seconds of the 100 metre.
2023 was a tough year for the 19-year-old swimmer, who injured her shoulder and had to take a break from the sport for several months. However, Friday's victories are widely celebrated by her team. Vanotterdijk will go on to compete in the Summer Olympics in Paris this July.
🇧🇪🥇 Roos Vanotterdijk gives Belgium 𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗗 with a lifetime best swim in the 100m Fly final!#EACBelgrade2024 | LIVE NOW | @EurovisionSport pic.twitter.com/KUFrY0Vk5h
— European Aquatics (@EuroAquatics) June 21, 2024
Record-setting history
The first Belgian woman to set this record was Chantal Grimard, who set a time of 1:04.83 in Woluwé on 27 March 1976. Martine Verbreyt broke this record twice in 1978, achieving a time of 1:04.72 in Antwerp and 1:04.29 in Seraing.
Ingrid Lempereur and Ann Bonvoisin continued this record-breaking streak throughout the 1980s, with Lempereur setting a time of 1:04.07 in 1986 in Antwerp, then 1:03.56 in Amersfoort. Ann followed suit twice in 1990, finishing at 1:03.05 in Bruges.
Brigitte Becue improved the record to 1:02.69 in Charleroi in 1996, and Fabienne Dufour broke it multiple times, reaching her quickest time of 1:00.06 in 2003.
Kimberly Buys held the record for several years, repeatedly knocking seconds off the time. She recorded a time of 59.71 in Anvers in 2007, gradually improving it to 57.91 in 2017.
Finally, Vanotterdijk set the current record. Her first record-breaking time was 57.85 in 2022 at the junior championships in Bucharest. She improved her own record twice, reaching 57.47 on Friday.
