Editorial content for the 2023 World Aquatics Championships is sponsored by FINIS, a longtime partner of Swimming World and leading innovator of suits, goggles and equipment. World Championships: At 18 Swims and Counting, Marrit Steenbergen Relishes Busy Schedule Marrit Steenbergen had enough pep in her step and verve in her voice to know exactly where she stood Saturday morning. Sixteen, was her answer to the question of how many swims she’d done so far in Fukuoka, on the seventh day of an eight-day meet. The reply, like so many of the Dutchwoman’s swims this week, was delivered with the right timing for the moment. Steenbergen has quietly had a tremendous World Aquatics Championships, while working more than anyone else. The preliminaries of the women’s 50 freestyle Saturday morning at the Marine Messe Hall were the 16th time she’s gotten up and raced this week. As fate would have it, swim No. 17, in the semifinals of the 50, landed her in a tie with Marie Wattel for eighth, which led a swim-off. She won Swim 18 to get a lane in Sunday’s final, her 19th swim. And with a 20th in the morning women’s 400 medley, she could earn a 21st in finals. The figure of swims comprises heats, semifinals and finals of the women’s 100 free, 200 free and 200 individual medley, plus prelims and finals of both the women’s 400 free relay, the 800 free relay and the mixed 400 medley relay. Before Sunday morning’s final prelims session, that means 2,250 yards of racing, all of it sprint-focused and high intensity. Marrit Steenbergen; Photo Courtesy: Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto “It’s a lot,” Steenbergen said. “But I do this, not very often, but I did it at Europeans last year, and when we have other competitions, I try to race a lot to prepare for this meet. It’s mostly just a mental game, try to recover and be ready for the next now.” That Euros in Rome in 22 netted her seven medals, including gold in the 100 and 200 free plus two relays. But it only required 14 swims, with Steenbergen not entered in the 50 free and relay prelims duty considerably lighter. In Fukuoka, she’s not only swum a lot but had to be on every time, with little chance to coast through semifinals of events like the 100 free. “It’s a lot, but I try to do it race by race and not think about, that I have to do 20 of them,” she said. “I knew I could have to do 20, and if I can make it, I’m like, OK, I did it, I can do it. It’s another feeling.” Steenbergen has been outstanding this meet. She finished fifth in the 200 freestyle, albeit nearly two seconds back of Summer McIntosh for bronze, and seventh in the 200 IM in one of her only down swims of the week. She helped Dutch relays finish fourth in the mixed 400 medley, sixth in the women’s 400 free and sixth in the 800 free, made all the more impressive by the fact that she was required in prelims for them even to qualify. Her reward for all that hard work came Friday night when she got a bronze medal in the 100 free, her time of 52.71 trailing Mollie O’Callaghan and Siobhan Haughey. “I just try to enjoy it,” she said. “If I enjoy it, I can swim fast. Yesterday, I was trying to and I really enjoyed it. I was just like, OK I’m going to race fast and I got third, and I was really happy by that. It was like, OK, all the hard work paid off, and seeing everyone happy and my parents in the stands, it’s just what you do it for.” Relays have a psychologically energizing effect for Steenbergen. She hasn’t had many bad swims to recover from – the 200 IM was one she wasn’t pleased with on Monday night. But she got right back at it Tuesday morning in the 200 free, and the mixed 400 medley relay on Wednesday helped her turn the page. Marrit Steenbergen; Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto “I really like relays,” she said. “It’s just a whole different energy you have in the call room. You’re with three other girls, and I’m not alone, and I like that. I need to relax in the call room, so if I have them, it’s like, I can do this, I can race for them and I’m not nervous when I’m in a relay. So that’s really good.” Ahead of Paris, Steenbergen will face a decision. She’s a medal contender in a couple of events, maybe more if she narrows her program to a few key events she can focus on. Or … she can keep up the high volume, especially if the Dutch have a piece or two emerge to make them medal contenders in a relay or two (maybe a mixed medley, or the women’s medley, with Tes Schouten coming off a great race.) For now, Steenbergen is endeavoring to keep herself busy in Paris, where the swim events will be stretched over nine days instead of eight. “I do want to do all the events in Paris,” she said. “It’s kind of a big meet there, too. But there is one more day, so I don’t have more than three swims in a day so the schedule is better there. So if I can do it here, I can do it in Paris.”
