Six of the best for dominant Dutch on final day in Copenhagen

The Netherlands’ Duncan van Haaren won two gold medals on the final day of the World Para Swimming World Series in Copenhagen, Denmark, as Dutch swimmers dominated the opening event.

Van Haaren’s (SB9) first gold of Sunday’s (4 March) finals came in the men’s 50m breaststroke as the Dutch swimmer added the shorter distance title to the 100m breaststroke gold he won on Saturday. The 17-year-old scored 1006 points to take the 50m crown, 92 points more than his compatriot Tim van Duuren (SB8), who finished second.

Jurijs Semjonovs (SB7) won Latvia’s only medal of the weekend as he claimed bronze.

Van Haaren then showed his versatility as he won his second gold of the night and third of the weekend in the men’s 200m individual medley. Marc Evers (SM14) made it a Dutch one-two as he took home the silver medal, ahead of Hong Kong’s Wa Kit Choi (SM14).

Evers’ second place finish saw him collect his fourth medal of the weekend and his second of the night after his earlier gold medal in the men’s 100m backstroke. The Dutch swimmer finished ahead of Great Britain’s Jordan Catchpole (S14) and Hong Kong’s Ka Chun Hui (S14) to win his second gold medal in Copenhagen.

It proved to be a dominant final session for the Netherlands with Sunday’s finals getting off to a stunning start as Chantalle Zijderveld won the women’s 50m breaststroke SB9.

The 17-year-old stormed down the Bellahoej Svoemmestadion pool to add the 50m breaststroke title to the gold medal she won in the 100m breaststroke on Saturday.

The silver medal went to Norway’s Sarah Louise Rung (SB4), while Sweden’s Maja Reichard (SB11) claimed bronze.

Cleo Keijzer (S8) was another Dutch swimmer to triumph on the final day in Copenhagen as she won her second gold medal in the women’s 100m backstroke.

Keijzer was not, however, the only gold medallist in the event, as the touches of Keijzer and Great Britain’s Megan Richter (S8) could not be separated. The bronze medal went to Hannah Aspden (S9) of the USA.

There was another close finish in the men’s 200m freestyle final, as Hong Kong’s Wai Lok Tang (S14) just got the better of Great Britain’s Thomas Hamer (S14) to take the gold by three points. Bas Takken (S10) of the Netherlands finished third to claim his third bronze medal of the weekend.

Great Britain’s Louise Fiddes (S14) claimed her second gold medal as she secured victory in the women’s 200m freestyle. Fiddes’ points tally of 957 was enough to deny her teammate Eleanor Robinson (S6) a third gold medal.

The British pair were joined on the podium by Manon Vermarien (S9) of the Netherlands, who finished third.

Fiddes was denied another gold medal in a very competitive women’s 200m individual medley final. Norway’s Sarah Louise Rung (SM5) was victorious as she secured her first gold in Copenhagen after claiming silver in the 50m breaststroke and bronze in the 100m breaststroke.

The silver medal went to Maisie Summers-Newton (SM6) of Great Britain and the bronze went to the Netherlands’ Lisa Kruger (SM10), as Fiddes finished fourth.

Sweden’s Mikael Fredriksson (SM3) got the better of Turkey’s Hamit Demir (SM4) to take gold in the men’s 150m individual medley as the pair went head-to-head in the final. Germany’s Gina Boettcher (SM4) was the sole competitor in the women’s event, scoring 578 points.

The Netherlands claimed their 11th gold medal of the weekend as they won gold in the 4x100m medley mixed relay in the final event of the opening leg of the 2018 World Series.

More information about the World Para Swimming World Series, including full results, can be found on World Para Swimming’s website.

The next World Series event will be held in Indianapolis, USA, from 19-21 April.

Sao Paulo, Brazil; Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy; Sheffield, Great Britain; and Berlin, Germany, will also host events between April and June.