Arno Kamminga will be aiming to go one better here in Doha after his silver medal in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke in Fukuoka – a race that is remembered for the remarkable three-way tie for second behind winner Qin Haiyang.
Arno Kamminga is the headline swimmer on a team of nineteen from the Netherlands and the perennial breaststroke bridesmaid is set to face a tough world class field with Adam Peaty, Nic Fink, Nicolo Martinenghi and up and coming Australian Sam Williamson all locked in for the World Aquatics Championships - Doha 2024.
The 28-year-old is yet to win an individual gold medal at a major international long course meet and it’s not just one swimmer that has been standing in his way. He was second in Fukuoka last year behind Qin Haiyang in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke, an identical result to 2022 although in Budapest it was Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi that hit the wall first.
The Dutchman also claimed two silver medals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, touching second to Adam Peaty in the 100m Breaststroke while also being unable to chase down Zac Stubblety-Cook in the 200m Breaststroke as the Australian powered home over the last fifty to break the Olympic Record. Kamminga claimed another two silvers at the European Championships in the same year, the 100m Breaststroke behind Peaty and the 200m Breaststroke behind Anton Chupkov. Even in a short course pool in Abu Dhabi in 2021 at the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) it was again silver in the 200m Breaststroke, touching second to yet another swimmer, Nic Fink.
Adding another twist to Kamminga’s search for that elusive gold medal against a star-studded field in Doha is the form of fellow countryman and training partner Caspar Corbeau. After four years at the University of Texas the 22 year-old retuned to the Netherlands last year and has been training alongside Kamminga under Mark Faber at the nation’s High Performance Centre in Amsterdam.
In the past two months Corbeau has recorded new all-time personal bests in the 50m, 100m and 200m Breaststroke across swims at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup and a local Rotterdam Qualification Meet. His 2:07.99 in the 200m Breaststroke in Rotterdam was almost half a second faster than his Fukuoka time which placed him fifth in the final and the Longhorns alumni also posted new career-best short course times in both the 100m and 200m Breaststroke at December’s European Short Course Swimming Championships.
Joining Kamminga and Corbeau on the Netherlands team is Fukuoka bronze medallist Tes Schouten who is also based at the Amsterdam High Performance Centre. Schouten has been re-writing the record books of recent. The 23 year-old claimed the triple crown in the Women’s 200m Breaststroke at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup and twice broke the meet record. Schouten was also dominant from start to finish in the 200m Breaststroke at the recent European Short Course Swimming Championships putting almost three and a half seconds between herself and second place while also shattering the national record.
Schouten’s biggest competition in the Women’s 200m Breaststroke will come from the United States of America’s Kate Douglass who has also been in career best form. Two weeks ago Douglass broke both the fourteen year-old US Open Record in the Women’s 200m Breaststroke and the decade old American Record that has stood since Rebecca Soni’s remarkable gold medal winning swim at the London Olympics where she became the first female ever to swim sub-2:20.
Fellow Fukuoka bronze medallist Marrit Steenbergen (Women’s 100m Freestyle) will also travel to Doha, along with current National Record holders Thom de Boer (Men’s 50m Freestyle) and Nyls Korstanje (Men’s 50m Butterfly & Men’s 100m Butterly).
Netherlands at Previous World Aquatics Championships (Swimming)
- 2023 - Fukuoka: 0 Gold, 1 Silver, 2 Bronze
- 2022 - Budapest: 0 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
- 2019 - Gwangju: 0 Gold, 1 Silver, 0 Bronze
- 2017 - Budapest: 0 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze
Previous World Aquatics Championships Medallists (Individual)
| Arno Kamminga | Silver | Men’s 100m Breaststroke | Fukuoka 2023 |
| Marrit Steenbergen | Bronze | Women’s 100m Freestyle | Fukuoka 2023 |
| Tes Schouten | Bronze | Women’s 200m Breaststroke | Fukuoka 2023 |
| Arno Kamminga | Silver | Men’s 100m Breaststroke | Budapest 2022 |
Doha Data | Swimming Team Netherlands
Oldest Team Member: Thom de Boer, 32 years
Youngest Team Members: Milou van Wijk & Janna van Kooten, 19 years
National Records: Thom de Boer (1), Arno Kamminga (3), Nyls Korstanje (2), Tes Schouten (2), Marrit Steenbergen (2)
Most Events Qualified: Marrit Steenbergen (4: 50m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle, 200m Individual Medley)
Swimming Team Netherlands
Women: Marrit Steenbergen, Tes Schouten, Imani de Jong, Kira Toussaint, Maaike de Waard, Janna van Kooten, Kim Busch, Milou van Wijk, Silke Holkenborg and Yara van Kalmthout.
Men: Arno Kamminga, Caspar Corbeau, Thom de Boer, Kenzo Simons, Thomas Jansen, Nyls Korstanje, Kai van Westering and Stan Pijnenburg.