Koen de Groot set a Dutch record on Tuesday to reach the final of the 50-meter breaststroke at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. The talent clocked a time of 26.71 seconds.
The 21-year-old De Groot improved his own national record by seven hundredths. Last month, at the Dutch National Championships in Amersfoort, he broke Arno Kamminga’s four-year-old record.
With 26.71, De Groot recorded the fastest time in his semi-final at the World Championships. It was the fourth fastest time overall. China’s Qin Haiyang was the fastest man in the 50-meter breaststroke with 26.52. The final is on Wednesday at 14:03 Dutch time.
De Groot was happy with his place in the final and the improvement of his record. “This morning, I left three tenths behind at the start in the heats. We had trained a lot on it, so I thought: why does it have to happen now?” he told the NOS. “I didn’t expect to be the fastest, but it’s a good sign.”
Caspar Corbeau failed to reach the final. The Dutchman, who narrowly missed the medals in the 100-meter breaststroke on Monday, clocked a time of 26.95 in the shortest breaststroke distance. He was only sixth in his semi-final. He swam in the same semi-final as De Groot.
The World Aquatics Championships in Singapore started on Sunday and lasts until Sunday. The Netherlands has so far won one medal. The relay women took bronze in the 4×100 meter freestyle on Sunday.