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The Vortex - May 2026: 'Best Yet To Come' - Vanotterdijk On Race Return

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by Craig Lord

published May 15, 2026

Belgian pioneer Roos Vanotterdijk, made her competitive comeback at the Belgian Swimming Championships with a 58.36 in 100m butterfly heats that suggests a good recovery from a shoulder injury.

Coached by Mark Faber, the Dutch technical director of Flemish Swimming, to silver in the 100m butterfly in a Belgian record of 55.84 at World titles behind generation-game-changer Gretchen Walsh (USA), Vanotterdijk also claimed bronze in the 50m 'fly final in Singapore last year.

On the eve of the championships in Antwerp, 21-year-old Vanotterdijk told reporter Klaas Dewyngaert at the Het Laatste Nieuws: “I feel the best is yet to come”.

National record holder in the long-course 100 free, 50 and 100 back, 100 'fly and 200IM, as well as seven short-course events, Vanotterdijk has been nursing a bursa in her right shoulders: it's an inflammation or irritation of a fluid-filled sac (the subacromial bursa) in the joint. Often referred to as shoulder bursitis, the condition causes pain, swelling, and reduced mobility in the shoulder and in swimmers is often a result of the repetitive uplift and overhead motion inherent in butterfly and freestyle in particular.

Having recovered well, the 'fly ace will this evening seek qualification for her big target of the season: the European Championship in Paris this August. Vanotterdijk senses progress every day, challenge the fuel she thrives on.

She tells Dewyngaert: “I am lucky that I perform very well under pressure."

When he meets her on the pool deck, he points to a giant poster of her at the Wezenberg pool in Antwerp. She's up there next to another massive image of a swimmer, Pieter Timmers, his Olympic silver in the 100m free at Tokyo 2020ne round his neck.

So, Roos, putting Belgium on the swimming map, he suggests? She replies:

“So now I have to look at my own face every day, eh? (laughs) I don't need all that.”

Praising her modesty, he asks if Roos feels the pressure of her elevated status and the spotlight trained ion her as a result. She winks at him as she says:

“I really don’t worry about that (winks). Suddenly there are a lot more people watching you and having an opinion too, but I only listen to the opinions of the people close to me. And I try not to let the rest bother me. I often think: ‘If it’s that easy, just do it yourself.’ That thought often helps me put everything into perspective.”

Recently returned from an altitude training camp in Colombia, she recalls having to withdraw from the Flanders Swimming Cup because of her shoulder injury before confirming that nationals this week in Antwerp are a somewhat anchor-less test of her fitness and the extent to which her shoulder has recovered:

"I will be able to say that after this weekend. It is difficult to assess because I am coming off a long period without competitions. I have no reference, so I am curious to see what the National Championships will bring. But the advantage is that I have been able to train on other things."

She cites leg work and adds:

"When I swim underwater, that level is good, but the difference with Gretchen Walsh is still really big. That gap needs to narrow in the coming years."

Currently training under the guidance of Louis Croenen and Myrna Van Duijven while coach Faber is away on extended leave, Vanotterdijk is entered in eight events over three days at nationals, but doubts she will take them all on. She tells Het Laatste Nieuws:

"I would like to, and I could, but it’s not the smartest idea because it’s only my first competition of the season. It is also the qualifying event for the European Championships, so it comes down to making smart choices together with Louis. We’ll see. I also like the variety of the different strokes. I won two World Championship medals in the butterfly last year, but if I focused solely on that, I would quickly become unhappy."

The Europeans in Paris are her "biggest goal of the year", and when asked if she feels there;'should be room for improvement on her best to date, she replies:

"I am certain of that. It will never be completely perfect. Last year, after my two World Championship medals ... I realised: I can perform well under pressure. Fortunately. I gave my absolute best during those two finals. It was the best I had in me at that moment. But now I know I can do even better. When I look at my turn or my last breath, I already see areas for improvement. The best is yet to come. I am still young, but those medals have been a fantastic life experience for me and they have given me even more motivation for what is to come."

Meanwhile, day 1 heats in Antwerp featured a 59.58 from another of Faber's charges, Dutch breaststroke ace Caspar Corbeau.

Emma McKeon Moving On & Off To Sydney For New Chapter In Life

**Last time off the blocks, at Paris 2024 - Emma McKeon, by Patrick B. Kraemer**

The 'Sydney Confidential' column at the Aussie D. Telegraph, today reports that Emma McKeon, Queen of haulers in the pool at the Tokyo 2020ne Olympic Games when she claimed seven medals, including the 50 and 100m freestyle titles, is starting a new chapter in life after breaking up with Cody Simpson.

Having grown up in Wollongong before spending a good part of her career north in Queensland, McKeon, 31, is heading south once more. She tells the paper:

“I’m just loving Sydney at the moment. I’ve been in the Gold Coast for a while now but I feel like a move is necessary. At the moment I’m just taking life as it comes, and I guess I’d say regrouping and evaluating things. The move to Sydney is a definite thing I want to do sooner than later. I want to be closer to all my friends and family who are still here.”

Her four-year relationship with Simpson, the singer-songwriter who made his way back to the pool he'd left in his youth and achieved impressive, world-class results on butterfly, ended late last year. Simpson's life is divided between the U.S. and Australia as he makes a return to the music world.

Meanwhile, Aussie media caught up with McKeon at Australian Fashion Week. She told the DT:

“This is my first Australian Fashion Week and I’m loving it. I was invited to a show in Paris after the Olympics, but there’s something different about having it here in Sydney. It feels fresher and livelier, perhaps the weather, but I’m so happy to be here."

When she was asked about the drizzle that’s tested front-row hair-does at the Fashion show, McKeon confirmed you can take the girl out of the swim but not the swimmer out of the girl:

“I loved the rain – and you know me, I’m not afraid to get a little wet."

Third Freestyle Crown For Fairweather In Sub-16 1500 At NZL Nationals

A day after a national record of 1:55 flat in the 200m freestyle at New Zealand Championships in Auckland, Erika Fairweather, 400m champion on day 1, still the limelight once more with a 15:58.26 victory in the 1500m free for her third crown in as may days

A stroke-for-stroke battle between Eve Thomas and Caitlin Deans went to Thomas 16:11.20 to 16:11.42, both inside the target time for selection to the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships.

The previous day, Fairweather clocked 1:55.06 way out in front for a Kiwi-record victory in the 200m, Deans, Thomas and Chelsey Edwards the next three New Zeelanders home in line for international relay duty, Australian Jade Starr in the middle of them:

In the men's 200m free, Lewis Clareburt, after victories in the 200m medley and 100m butterfly on days 1 and 2, clocked 1:46.60 for the title 1.03sec shy off the national record he set at the Australian Open last month:

In other action, there were more victories for Ariel Muchirahondo, 17, on 1:59.07 in the 200m backstroke, and Hazel Ouwehand, on 58.00 in the 100m butterfly.

Program & Results in Full

Other Day 2 Results:

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