World Champs Profile: Marrit Steenbergen Has Shuffled Events, but Remains a Threat
Leading into the start of the World Championships later this month, Swimming World will publish a handful of short profiles on top contenders for the podium in Singapore. Our next entry in this series features the Netherlands’ Marrit Steenbergen, who has opted to tweak her schedule from past World Champs.
Marrit Steenbergen
Netherlands
Events: 50 Freestyle/100 Freestyle/100 Backstroke
The Road to Singapore
Steenbergen has typically contested the 200 freestyle and 200 individual medley at the World Champs, but those events have been scrapped this summer. Instead, Steenbergen will focus on the sprint freestyles and the 100 backstroke, the latter an event that has reflected major progress. The Dutchwoman heads into the 100 back ranked 11th in the world at 58.96.
While Steenbergen ranks 18th in the world in the 50 free at 24.68, her best chance at a medal is in the 100 freestyle, where she sits second in the global rankings at 52.77. She’ll also see a full schedule of relay work, which is the norm for her in international competitions.
Top Career Achievement
A multi-time European champion, Steenbergen is the defending world champion in the 100 freestyle, as she won the event at last year’s edition in Doha. While that meet did not feature a full gathering of the sport’s stars, Steenbergen was superb, setting a national record of 52.26 to hold off Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey.
Previous World Champs Hardware
Steenbergen possesses six career medals from the World Championships, including four from relay contributions. She made her first appearance at Worlds as a 15-year-old in Kazan in 2015. At the 2023 competition, which was the last to feature a full field, she was the bronze medalist in the 100 freestyle.
Stat Fact
Steenbergen’s rise up the 100 backstroke rankings is impressive, and not just because she has joined the sub-59 club. She didn’t even have an official swim in the event during the 2024 season and her best time during the 2023 campaign was a time of 1:00.50.
World Champs Profiles
