Doha (AFP) – Dutch women won two titles and China also won two gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha on Friday, ending a long wait.
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On the night the first world champion was crowned, Marit Steenburgen won the 100m freestyle, becoming the first Dutchman to win a world pool title since 2013.
Just 45 minutes later, Tess Schouten added another point in the women’s 200m breaststroke.
Teenager Dong Zhihao won the men’s 200m breaststroke with a late surge, and the Chinese team ended the night with a gold medal in the men’s 200m freestyle relay.
With the Paris Olympics just five months away, China has moved further away from the top of the medal standings.
Spaniard Hugo Gonzalez also crossed the finish line with just a few meters left to win gold in the 200m backstroke.
Steenburgen, who won bronze in this event at last year’s championships, won in 52.26 seconds.
“I didn’t feel a lot of pressure today,” Steenburgen said. “I tied it just to have fun and enjoy the race, so I can swim really fast.”
She finished 0.30 seconds faster than Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey, last year’s silver medalist and 200m gold medalist earlier this week. 3rd place goes to Shayna Jack from Australia.
Hoey took the lead at the turn, with Steenburgen in fourth, but the Dutchwoman jumped into the lead on the second lap and set the eighth fastest time ever.
Steenburgen won his second gold medal of the week, helping the Netherlands to victory in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
At the beginning of the competition, the 24-year-old broke the 2015 national record held by 2008 Beijing Olympic relay gold medalist Femke Heemskerk. Steenburgen also completed an 11-year wait since Ranomi Kromowidjojo won the 50m free world title.
“I’m happy to be faster than them,” Steenburgen said. “It feels really weird. Even though Femke is an Olympic champion, I feel like she’s so much bigger than me.”
Last year’s winner, Australian Molly O’Callaghan, will not compete in Doha but will swim in Paris.
In the next final, Schouten won the women’s 200m breaststroke.
Schouten, last year’s bronze medalist, also broke her own national record. He took the lead from the start and won with a time of 2:19.81, 9th in the history of the tournament.
Schouten said he heard the Dutch national anthem being played in Steenbergen as he prepared for the swim.
“happy tears”
She cried after her victory.
“Tears of joy,” she said. “I was very nervous, but the result was good. A PB (personal best) and a gold medal. I looked at my coach and said, ‘I’m so tired! I’m so happy!'” I was all over the place. ”
Versatile American Kate Douglas was 1.10 seconds behind, despite barely having time to dry off after finishing fourth in the previous freestyle final.
Third place went to Canada’s Sydney Pickrem.
Don jumped from sixth to first with 50 meters to go and won his first world title with a personal best time of 2:07.94.
Dutchman Kasper Corbeau, who led until the final 15 meters, won the silver medal by 0.30 seconds. Nick Fink of the United States performed well and won the bronze medal.
Gonzalez used a strong final lap to beat Swiss swimmer Roman Michukov by 0.10 seconds in 1:55.30 to win his first world title.
“It could have been him or me,” Gonzalez said. “I’m glad it happened to be me.”
South Africa’s Peter Coetzee came back from eighth place at the final corner to win the bronze medal.
China, with men’s 100m champion Pan Zanle swimming the third leg, won the 200m relay with a time of 7:01.84, just 0.10 seconds ahead of South Korea, with the United States in third place.
This was China’s sixth medal in the pool category, as they dominated in diving and artistic swimming.
Overall there are 31 medals, 22 of which are gold medals. The United States ranks second with a total of 18 medals and seven gold medals.
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