Valerie Van Roon Ousts Quarantined Femke Heemskerk For Olympic Spot in 50 Free; Kamminga, de Boer Set Record
The Olympic qualifier at Rotterdam was packed with strong performances and a stunning storyline as swimmers from the Netherlands vied for spots on the 2021 Olympic team in Tokyo.
Unsurprisingly, Ranomi Kromowidjojo won the 50 freestyle in 24.38, just off her 24.35 set at the 2019 World Championships.
The surprising part came when runner-up Valerie Van Roon earned the silver in 24.63. Van Roon finishing second was not in itself a surprise, especially with Femke Heemskerk out of the meet because of COVID-19 contact tracing protocols. The stunner was her time is the second-fastest Olympic automatic qualifier in the event during the Dutch qualifying period, knocking Heemskerk out of that second spot.
It was the first time Van Roon has broken 25 seconds. Heemskerk swam 24.71 at the 2019 Swim Cup Amsterdam.
Heemskerk still holds the second spot in the 100 free as of now, but it was another blow to the Olympian, who has had a tough year with a positive COVID-19 test, now missing this meet because of her husband’s positive test.
There were some other strong performances during Day 1 in Rotterdam.
Thom de Boer broke the Dutch record in the 50 free in 21.75, while Arno Kamminga lowered the national record in the 50 breaststroke to 26.88. Kamminga won the event in 26.96.
• Results
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