Marrit Steenbergen is a great swimmer and won the European title on Saturday evening in both the 200 meter individual medley and the 100 meter freestyle. With no fewer than two new records, she easily outpaced the competition. With these victories she brings her total to the fourth and fifth gold medal of this European Short Course Championships in Poland.
Steenbergen is working on a very successful European Short Course Championships. The 25-year-old Geldropse won gold in the 200-meter freestyle last Thursday and gold in the 100-meter individual medley earlier that day. In the medley, the swimmer had a big lead after just two laps.
Record
She swam both races to a European record. In the medley she broke the ten-year-old European record, and the world record of the American Kate Douglass also seemed to be in sight for the medley, but that turned out to be just too ambitious.
Earlier in this tournament, she already won gold in the 50-meter freestyle relay team. The medal ceremony for the two distances of course had to end well.
After Steenbergen had taken the highest place on the podium, the song Ik Ga Zwemmen by Mart Hoogkamer started.
Second record of the evening
Just off the podium, Steenbergen is already preparing for the 100 meter freestyle: the fifth gold medal beckons.
Although Steenbergen lags behind in the first lane, she quickly manages to regain the lead in her favorite part. Ultimately, she once again won a European record and the gold medal in the 100 meters.
Previous medals
During this European Championship she already won bronze in the 4×50 meter mixed freestyle and silver in the 4×50 meter mixed medley.