Tes Schouten Lowers Dutch 200 Breaststroke Record To 2:21.71; First Voyage Inside 2:22
Tes Schouten lowered her national 200m breaststroke record to 2:21.71 at the Dutch Long-Course Championships in Amersfoot with the second-fastest time in the world this year.
It was the third time this year Schouten – the 2022 world short-course bronze medallist – had lowered her national mark and her first journey inside 2:22.
The 22-year-old started 2023 with a best of 2:23.67 set at the Rotterdam Qualification Meet in December last year, having started the competition with a PB of 2:26.13.
Come March and Schouten reduced that further to 2:23.28 at the Giant Open in France, a time she subsequently lowered to 2:22.21 at the Eindhoven Qualification Meet in April.
Only Evgeniia Chikunova and her 2:17.55 from the Russian Championships eclipses Schouten this year although Tatjana Schoenmaker‘s 2:18.95 is still listed as the world record.
With Russian athletes set to be absent from the World Championships, Schouten’s time tops the world rankings of those eligible to compete in Fukuoka.