Marrit Steenbergen swims 51.86 in the 100-metre freestyle and comes within reach of the world record
Dutch swimmer Marrit Steenbergen delivered one of the fastest performances in the history of the women's 100-metre freestyle in a long-course pool. At the Mare Nostrum meet in Canet-en-Roussillon, France, she won with a time of 51.86 seconds, making her the second-fastest swimmer of all time in this event, behind world record holder Sarah Sjöström. According to Swimming World's report, Steenbergen opened the race with a split of 24.91 over the first 50 metres, and swam the second length in 26.95 seconds. The result is especially significant because it was achieved in a season in which the 52-second barrier has once again begun to move closer to the top of the world women's sprint.
Steenbergen competed in France as the reigning two-time world champion in the 100-metre freestyle. According to World Aquatics data and reports from the 2025 World Championships in Singapore, she defended the title with a time of 52.55, after winning the same event a year earlier in Doha. The performance in Canet is therefore not an isolated flash, but a continuation of a period in which the Dutch national team member has established herself among the most important names in women's freestyle. The time of 51.86 puts her only 15 hundredths behind Sarah Sjöström's world record, set in 2017 in Budapest with a swim of 51.71 on the first leg of the 4x100-metre freestyle relay.
The race in Canet changed the order near the top of the all-time rankings
According to the published results and the Swimming World report, Steenbergen won the 100-metre freestyle final ahead of Siobhan Haughey, who swam to second place in 52.36, listed as her best result of the season. Canadian Taylor Ruck was third in 54.15. The gap between the winner and the rest of the final shows how much Steenbergen's race stood apart from the standard rhythm of the meet. In an event in which even a few tenths are considered a large difference, a half-second advantage over Haughey, one of the fastest swimmers of her generation, further emphasizes the value of the result.
The time of 51.86 pushed Steenbergen ahead of her closest pursuers on the all-time rankings. Anna Moesch, according to the same report, had swum 51.94 only a few days earlier at the AP Race London International, breaking Simone Manuel's American record, which had stood at 52.04. Emma McKeon swam 51.96 at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, while Siobhan Haughey set the Asian record with 52.02 in Berlin in 2023. After the performance in Canet, only Sjöström remains ahead of Steenbergen, with a world record of 51.71 that has stood for almost nine years.
Swimming World states that Steenbergen is now among the rare swimmers who have gone under 52 seconds in the 100-metre freestyle in a long-course pool. That threshold carries special weight because in the women's sprint it had long been considered the line separating elite results from historic performances. Sjöström became the first woman under 52 seconds in 2017, and after her that circle expanded slowly. Steenbergen's entry into that range confirms that the battle for the world record is opening up again, especially in a year in which several swimmers have come very close to that level.
Mare Nostrum as an important stop in the international season
The Mare Nostrum Swim Tour is one of the best-known European long-course meets and traditionally brings together strong international competition. According to official information from the organizers, the 2026 edition takes place from 23 to 31 May, with stops in Monaco, Canet-en-Roussillon and Barcelona. Canet is the second stop of this year's tour, scheduled for 27 and 28 May, and the organizers state that the local club Canet 66 Natation is one of the founders of the series, alongside Monaco and Barcelona. Such a competition format allows swimmers to race against top-level opposition several times in a short period, which often produces very fast results and a clearer picture of form ahead of the main championships.
Steenbergen had already shown a high level of form at the first stop in Monaco. Swimming World previously reported that she won there in the 100-metre freestyle with a personal best of 52.13, also ahead of Haughey. That result had already been one of the best in the world in the current season, but the performance in Canet went considerably further. An improvement of 27 hundredths in just a few days in a 100-metre freestyle race is an exceptionally large step for a swimmer who was already at the top of the world.
In Canet, according to the Swimming World report, other valuable results were also recorded. Italian Simona Quadarella won the 800-metre freestyle in 8:20.54 and set a meet record, breaking the time held since 2014 by Jazz Carlin. Canadian Mary-Sophie Harvey won the 200-metre individual medley in 2:09.20, while in the men's competition Patrick Sammon won the 100-metre freestyle in 48.04. Still, Steenbergen's result in the 100-metre freestyle was the performance that marked the day, because it directly touched the question of the world record.
Sarah Sjöström's world record is back in focus
The women's 100-metre freestyle world record stands at 51.71 and belongs to Sarah Sjöström. According to World Aquatics and Guinness World Records data, the Swedish swimmer set it on 23 July 2017 at the World Championships in Budapest, swimming the first leg of Sweden's 4x100-metre freestyle relay. At the moment it was set, that result carried enormous symbolic value because Sjöström then broke the 52-second barrier. Almost a decade later, her record still remains the benchmark of the women's sprint event.
Steenbergen is now the closest to that record by a performance achieved in an individual race at a major international meet. Unlike a relay performance, where the swimmer on the first leg must also start from a stationary position as in an individual race, the victory in Canet carries additional competitive confirmation because it was achieved in a direct final. It is not only a fast time in favourable circumstances, but a winning performance against well-known names in world swimming. That is why the time of 51.86 will probably be viewed as one of the key indicators ahead of the major competitions of the season.
In the women's 100-metre freestyle sprint, small differences carry great weight. The gap between 51.86 and 51.71 is only 15 hundredths, which in this event can depend on the start, the turn, the final stroke or the distribution of power between the two lengths of the pool. Steenbergen covered the first half of the race in Canet in 24.91, and then kept enough speed for 26.95 on the way back. Such a ratio shows that she did not only start explosively, but also had the closing endurance needed for a result on the edge of the world record.
The rise of a swimmer who has already confirmed her status at world championships
Marrit Steenbergen was born in 2000 and has long been present in Dutch and international swimming, but in recent seasons she has reached a new level in individual events. According to World Aquatics data, after the gold medal in the 100-metre freestyle at the 2024 World Championships in Doha, she defended the title in Singapore in 2025. In doing so, she confirmed that she belongs to a small group of swimmers who can combine a top result, tactical stability and the ability to win against the strongest competition.
In Singapore, according to an Olympics.com report, Steenbergen outperformed a field in the 100-metre freestyle final that also included Olympic champions Mollie O'Callaghan and Torri Huske. Her then result of 52.55 was enough for the world title, but Canet showed that her ceiling is considerably higher. Such a jump in time compared with a major championship may mean that in the 2026 season she has reached a new phase of preparation, especially if her form is maintained toward the summer part of the competition calendar.
The European and world swimming scene in the women's sprint has been extremely competitive in recent years. Sjöström is still the world record holder and the Olympic champion from Paris 2024 in the 100-metre freestyle, Haughey is constantly present near the top, and American and Australian swimmers regularly move national and continental boundaries. In such an environment, the result of 51.86 is not only Steenbergen's personal best, but also a signal that the battle for the global summit could become even sharper.
What the result means for the rest of the season
Mare Nostrum comes in the part of the year when swimmers often seek a balance between racing speed and preparations for the main championships. The official tour calendar shows that after Monaco and Canet comes Barcelona, where the third stop will be held from 30 to 31 May. If Steenbergen continues to compete, her next results will provide an additional answer to the question of whether 51.86 was the peak of her current form or the announcement of even faster races. For the 100-metre freestyle sprint, it is especially important whether a similar rhythm can be repeated several times in a short period.
Swimming World emphasizes in its report that Steenbergen's main international focus for the rest of the summer will be the European Championships in Paris. In that context, the result from Canet sets different expectations. A swimmer who has already won world gold twice has now moved close to a record that long seemed unattainable, and her rivals and coaching staffs will receive a clear indicator of the level that must be reached for victory.
At the same time, 51.86 does not mean that the world record is automatically a matter of the next race. Swimming below 52 seconds requires an ideal combination of form, rest, technical execution and competitive pressure. Sjöström's record has survived several generations of top sprinters precisely because it is an exceptionally demanding boundary. Still, Steenbergen showed in Canet that the record can be attacked directly, and not only theoretically.
An event in which history is measured in hundredths
The 100-metre freestyle race in a long-course pool is often described as one of the most prestigious events in the swimming programme. It is a combination of speed, power, technique and the ability to maintain a high rhythm after the turn. Unlike the 50 metres, where pure explosiveness dominates, the 100 requires proper energy distribution. Unlike the 200 metres, there is not enough room for major tactical corrections. That is why historic shifts in this event are rare and especially visible.
With a result of 51.86, Steenbergen entered that narrow historic space. Her race in Canet showed that the current women's sprint has several potential candidates for breaking boundaries, but also that the Dutch swimmer is now the closest to the world record by achieved time. If her form is confirmed at major championships as well, the 2026 season could become one of the most important for the development of the women's 100-metre freestyle race since 2017.
For now, the fact remains that the world record still belongs to Sarah Sjöström, and that Marrit Steenbergen came within only 15 hundredths of it in Canet. In a sport in which the order is often decided by a single touch, that is a difference that is at once small and enormous. Precisely for that reason, the victory in 51.86 is not only the result of one final at Mare Nostrum, but a performance that changes the conversation about the limits of the women's sprint event.
Sources:
- Swimming World – report on Marrit Steenbergen's victory in the 100-metre freestyle in Canet-en-Roussillon and the time of 51.86 (link)
- Mare Nostrum Swim Tour – official information on the stops and calendar of the 2026 edition (link)
- Mare Nostrum Swim Tour – official page of the Canet-en-Roussillon 2026 stop (link)
- World Aquatics – article on Marrit Steenbergen's defence of the world title in the 100-metre freestyle (link)
- Olympics.com – report on Marrit Steenbergen's victory in the 100-metre freestyle at the 2025 World Championships in Singapore (link)
- Guinness World Records – information on Sarah Sjöström's world record in the 100-metre freestyle in a long-course pool (link)