The mixed relay team won bronze on Tuesday at the World Swimming Championships in Budapest. Kira Toussaint, Arno Kamminga, Nyls Korstanje and Marrit Steenbergen finished third in the 4×100 meter medley behind the United States (first) and Australia.
At the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year, the Netherlands finished sixth. At that time the mixed relay team consisted of Toussaint, Kamminga, Korstanje and Femke Heemskerk.
Toussaint, Kamminga, Korstanje and Steenbergen had qualified for the final battle in the Hungarian capital with the second fastest time. Other countries allowed their top swimmers rest, so that the Netherlands was not counted among the medal candidates in advance.
The Netherlands started with the same four swimmers as in the semi-final. The foursome was outside the top three for a long time, but thanks to a big final sprint by Korstanje and Steenbergen, the Orange still finished third. For a while, Australia’s second place (3.41.54) still seemed feasible, but the Netherlands eventually fell two tenths short for silver.
Top favorite the United States (3.38.79) took gold by force majeure. For the Netherlands it is the second medal in Budapest. Top favorite Kamminga took silver in the 100-meter breaststroke on Sunday.
Kira Toussaint qualified for the finals in the 50m backstroke.
Kira Toussaint qualified for the finals in the 50m backstroke. Photo: Getty Images
Toussaint sure of final spot 50 meters backstroke
Earlier in the evening, Toussaint qualified for the final of the 50 meter backstroke. The Dutch clocked a time of 27.69 seconds and finished seventh in the semi-final. For Maaike de Waard (tenth with 27.77) the semi-finals were the final destination.
Toussaint took gold in the 50-meter backstroke during the European Championship short course in Kazan last year and also gold in the 100 and 200-meter backstroke, but many world top players did not participate in the tournament in the Russian city. During that European Championship, De Waard finished third in the 50-meter backstroke and she swam to silver in the 100-meter backstroke.
The final of the 50 meter backstroke will be swum at 6.30 pm on Wednesday.