Dutch delight as Rogier Dorsman smashes world record at Berlin 2022

Berlin lived up to its reputation as one of the fastest pools on the planet with plenty of smashed world records and great performances at the Para Swimming World Series which ended on Sunday (3 April).

Dutch swimmer Rogier Dorsman and Germany’s Tanja Scholz and Verena Schott had their names announced more often than any others during the four days of competition at the Schwimm- und Sprunghalle in the Europasportpark (SSE) in the German capital. 

The three-time Paralympic champion Dorsman grabbed five gold medals as the first to touch the wall in the men’s 100m butterfly, 50m and 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke, and 200m medley. 

In the 200m medley race, the Dutch also set a new world record* for the SM11 class clocking 2:18.47.

“I feel pretty great specially because I didn’t train a lot in the last weeks, so I didn’t expect these good times here. I’m ready for the World Championships”, said Dorsman.

HOME GLORY

Scholz and Schott led the host nation to the top of the podium with impressive results at the World Series. 

Schott triumphed in the women's 100m butterfly, 100m and 200m backstroke, and 200m medley. 

Scholz dominated all freestyle events (50m, 100m, 200m, and 400m) and was part of the German team who led the 4x50m mixed medley relay. 

She also set three new world records* in the S4 class – 36.92 (50m freestyle), 1:19.28 (100m freestyle), and 2:51.53 (200m freestyle).

Another German swimmer to excel in Berlin was local star Elena Semechin who made her return to the pool since the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and since she discovered a brain tumour at the end of 2021. Semechin was undergoing chemotherapy until a few days before the World Series and was unsure she would be able to compete. 

Among the international visitors, there was also a lot to celebrate in the 13-strong Colombian team. The South Americans picked two gold medals with Carlos Serrano in the men's 100m breaststroke and Moises Fuentes in the men's 200m breaststroke. 

THE LAST STOP

The Para Swimming World Series travels to USA this week with Indianapolis hosting a three-day event starting on Thursday (7). It will be the final stop of the season before the world's best meet at the World Championships in Madeira, Portugal in June.

The World Para Swimming Points System is used at the World Series competitions to calculate athletes’ results. At the end of the season the top female and male swimmers are declared season winners.

Complete results, records and all medallists from Berlin 2022 can be found here.

*World records subject to ratification by World Para Swimming