Marrit Steenbergen smashes Sarah Sjostrom's women's 100m freestyle world record in Rome
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Marrit Steenbergen smashes Sarah Sjostrom's women's 100m freestyle world record in Rome")
Steenbergen breaks women's 100 metres freestyle world record Photograph: (AFP)
Marrit Steenbergen shattered the women's 100m freestyle world record in Rome with a stunning 51.68 seconds, surpassing Sarah Sjostrom's mark
Dutch swimmer Marrit Steenbergen delivered a historic performance on Saturday by breaking the women's 100 metres freestyle world record at the Sette Colli International Trophy in Rome. The 26-year-old clocked an astonishing 51.68 seconds, eclipsing the previous world record of 51.71 seconds set by Olympic champion Sarah Sjostrom at the 2017 World Championships. "It still feels so weird ... I hope that it will sink in," the 26-year-old said after beating the world record.
“But it's always when someone goes faster you see that it's going faster in the last (few) years. It's always when someone does it more people start doing it, like it's a form of motivation.” "So I think more people will start swimming 52-lows, 51s, because it always goes like that, and I think that's really good for the sport."
Steenbergen finished seventh behind Sjostrom in the women's 100m freestyle final at the Paris Olympics in 2024 but has emerged as the leading force in the event since the Swedish star went on maternity leave. She bounced back from her Olympic disappointment by defending her world title in Singapore last year, narrowly defeating Australia's former world champion Mollie O'Callaghan. Her outstanding performances also earned her the European Aquatics Women's Swimmer of the Year award for 2025 after successfully retaining her continental title.
Earlier this season, Steenbergen had already hinted at record-breaking form by swimming 51.86 seconds at the Canet stop of the Mare Nostrum series in France in May. "I really enjoy racing now, and I feel like I believe more in myself. Especially in the 100 I'm like, 'I know how to do it, I know what I want. Let's go,'" Steenbergen added.
Steenbergen's record-breaking swim marks the second world record Sarah Sjostrom has lost this month. American swimmer Kate Douglass recently broke the women's 50 metres freestyle world record at the U.S. Pro Swim Series event in Indianapolis.
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The 24-year-old recorded 23.59 seconds, surpassing Sjostrom's previous mark of 23.61 seconds set during the 2023 World Championships in Japan.
