Stalwart Sprinter Ranomi Kromowidjojo Announces Tokyo 2020 Intent

Gian Mattia D'Alberto / lapresse 13-06-2014 Roma sport nuoto trofeo Settecolli nella foto: Ranomi Kromowidjojo NED Gian Mattia D'Alberto / lapresse 13-06-2014 Rome in the photo: Ranomi Kromowidjojo NED

Photo Courtesy: Gian Mattia Dalberto/Lapresse

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Dutch swimmer Ranomi Kromowidjojo recently made the decision to continue her swimming career through the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Kromowidjojo, now 26, has been a stalwart figure in the sprint freestyle events for more than a decade now.

She explained to the Associated Press that,

I thought it would be more difficult to keep going, physically, but I’m still standing. I said I would continue until the World Championships in Budapest, and after that I would decide whether to keep swimming, but I knew before Budapest that I would. So I decided today, because there was a press conference, that I would tell everybody, and then the word is out. That way, nobody is talking about my last races coming up and putting pressure on me. I really love swimming, and love improving at it, getting better every day.

The three-time Olympian has had a storied career, rising through the ranks as a teenager and remaining a relevant competitor continuously throughout the years. She has set a total of nine individual and relay world records in her career. Of those nine, the 50 SCM free (22.93), 200 SCM free relay (1:34.24), and 400 SCM free relay (3:28.22) still stand today.

She qualified for her first World Championships in 2007, travelling to Melbourne, Australia and collecting a bronze relay medal. Later that year she would post her first world record as a member of the 200 SCM free relay alongside Hinkelien Schreuder, Inge Dekker and Marleen Veldhuis.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics she earned her first Olympic gold medal as a member of the 400 free relay, and powered through the next quadrennial. She arrived in London for the 2012 Olympic Games hungry for more, claiming victory in both the 50 and 100 freestyles, plus a silver in the 400 free relay. While she failed to medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Kromowidjojo rebounded and made her way to the podium four times at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest.

She followed up her Worlds performances with a world record breaking swim in the 50 SCM free at the FINA World Cup stop in Berlin, becoming the first woman to swim under 23 seconds.

To learn more about Kromowidjojo and her decision to continue training for Tokyo 2020, visit The Indian Express.

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Megan Marie

6 years ago

Jeremy Chayer