Roos Vanotterdijk (born 7 January 2005) is a Belgian competitive swimmer. She is the Belgian record holder in the long course 100 metre freestyle, 50 metre backstroke, 100 metre backstroke, 100 metre butterfly and 200 metre medley, as well as the short course 50 and 100 metres backstroke, 50 and 100 metres butterfly, 100 and 200 metres individual medley and 200 metres breaststroke. She won several medals during the European Championships and the World Championships, especially in butterfly. She is already regarded as the greatest Belgian female swimmer of all time.

Background Vanotterdijk competes for and trains with De Meerkoet Bree (DMB) swim club, based in and serving the residents of the municipality of Bree, Belgium."Roos Vanotterdijk indrukwekkend in Gent" (in Dutch). demeerkoetbree.be. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2023."Roos Vanotterdijk" . zwemfed.be. Retrieved 12 July 2022.

Career 2019–2021 At the 2019 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival, held in Baku, Azerbaijan, Vanotterdijk won the fifth medal for Belgium at the Festival in any sport, achieving a time of 59.33 seconds in the final of the 100 metre butterfly to win the silver medal in the event."Roos Vanotterdijk wint zilver op de 100m vlinderslag in Bakoe met indrukwekkende chrono!" (in Dutch). Team Belgium. 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2022. In April 2021, at the 2020 European Aquatics Championships held at Danube Arena in Budapest, Hungary, she placed 49th in the 100 metre butterfly and 34th in the 50 metre butterfly.LEN (17 May 2021). "Hungary 2020 LEN European Aquatics Championships: Results 100m Butterfly Women Preliminary" . Microplus Informatica. Retrieved 12 July 2022.LEN (22 May 2021). "Hungary 2020 LEN European Aquatics Championships: Results 50m Butterfly Women Preliminary" . Microplus Informatica. Retrieved 12 July 2022. Two months later, at the 2021 European Junior Swimming Championships held at Stadio Olimpico del Nuoto in July in Rome, Italy, she won the bronze medal in the 50 metre butterfly with a time of 26.55 seconds, finishing 0.41 seconds behind gold medalist Daria Klepikova of Russia.LEN (12 July 2021). "LEN European Junior Swimming Championships Rome - Italy: Complete Results" . Microplus Informatica. Retrieved 12 July 2022.

2022 2022 European Junior Championships

Vanotterdijk won five medals at the 2022 European Junior Swimming Championships, held in Otopeni, Romania in July, including one gold medal, two silver medals, and two bronze medals."Euro juniors de natation: la Belge Roos Vanotterdijk décroche une 5e médaille" (in French). La Dernière Heure. 10 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022. Her first medal was a bronze medal in the 50 metre backstroke, where she finished third with a time of 28.62 seconds after setting a new Belgian record in the semifinals with a time of 28.50 seconds."Heeft België met Roos Vanotterdijk nieuwe zwemtopper? "Op termijn streven naar finales, alles op zijn tijd"" (in Dutch). Sporza. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022."Euro juniors de natation: la Belge Roos Vanotterdijk médaillée de bronze sur 100m libre" (in French). Le Soir. 10 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022."Roos Vanotterdijk en argent sur 100m dos en battant le record de Belgique de Kimberly Buys" (in French). La Libre Belgique. 10 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022."Roos Vanotterdijk blijft oogsten op EK zwemmen voor junioren: 2x zilver erbij" (in Dutch). Sporza. 10 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022. In the 100 metre butterfly, she won the gold medal and European junior title with a Belgian record time of 57.85 seconds, swimming 0.06 seconds faster than the previous mark of 57.91 seconds set by Kimberly Buys. She next won the bronze medal in the 100 metre freestyle with a personal best time of 55.34 seconds to finish within seven-tenths of a second of gold medalist Nikolett Pádár of Hungary."Roos Vanotterdijk, en bronze sur 100m libre, continue sa moisson de médailles à l'Euro juniors" (in French). RTBF. 9 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022. For the 100 metre backstroke, she won the silver medal with a Belgian record time of 1:00.90, finishing just 0.02 seconds behind the gold medalist Dóra Molnár of Hungary. Later in the same finals session as the 100 metre backstroke, she won a second silver medal, this time in the 50 metre butterfly with a time of 26.63 seconds, finishing 0.13 seconds ahead of bronze medalist Jana Pavalić of Croatia.

2022 European Aquatics Championships On 2 August, when she was of age, Vanotterdijk was announced as one of twelve swimmers on the official Belgium roster for the 2022 European Aquatics Championships, held in Rome, Italy, starting nine days later."Belgium, Czech Republic and Sweden line up their teams for Roma 2022". roma2022.eu. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022. The first day of competition, she ranked nineteenth in the 100 metre freestyle with a time of 55.95 seconds and achieved first-alternate status for the semifinals.LEN (11 August 2022). "European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Results 100m Freestyle Women Preliminary". Microplus. Retrieved 11 August 2022. For the semifinals, her alternate status was called upon, after Nikolett Pádár of Hungary withdrew from the event, and she placed thirteenth with a time of 55.68 seconds.LEN (11 August 2022). "European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Results 100m Freestyle Women Semi-Final". Microplus. Retrieved 11 August 2022."Valentine Dumont et Roos Vanotterdijk éliminées en demi-finales du 100 m libre à l'Euro de Rome" (in French). RTBF. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022. The following day, she finished in a time of 26.76 seconds in the preliminaries of the 50 metre butterfly and qualified for the semifinals ranking sixteenth.LEN (12 August 2022). "European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Results 50m Butterfly Women Preliminary". Microplus. Retrieved 12 August 2022."Euro de natation : Roos Vanotterdijk qualifiée pour les demi-finales du 50 mètres papillon" (in French). RTBF. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022. She placed fourteenth in the semifinals with a time of 26.85 seconds.LEN (12 August 2022). "European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Results 50m Butterfly Women Semi-Final". Microplus. Retrieved 12 August 2022."Roos Vanotterdijk sneuvelt in halve finales, fenomeen Popovici op zucht van wereldrecord" (in Dutch). Sporza. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022. The third day, she placed 28th in the 50 metre backstroke with a time of 29.27 seconds.LEN (13 August 2022). "European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Results 50m Backstroke Women Preliminary". Microplus. Retrieved 13 August 2022.

The fourth day, Vanotterdijk swam a 59.06 in the prelims heats of the 100 metre butterfly, qualifying for the semifinals ranking eleventh.LEN (14 August 2022). "European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Results 100m Butterfly Women Preliminary". Microplus. Retrieved 14 August 2022.De Pauw, Jeroen (14 August 2022). "Roos Vanotterdijk bereikt op EK halve finales 100 meter vlinderslag, Lucas Henveaux doet hetzelfde op 200 meter vrije slag" (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. Retrieved 14 August 2022."Roos Vanotterdijk qualifiée pour les demi-finales du 100 m papillon" (in French). RTL Info. 14 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022. She brought her time down to a 58.42 in the semifinals, ranked sixth across both semifinal heats, and qualified for the final.LEN (14 August 2022). "European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Results 100m Butterfly Women Semi-Final". Microplus. Retrieved 14 August 2022."Marie Wattel et Yohann Ndoye-Brouard qualifiés en finale aux Championnats d'Europe" (in French). L'Équipe. 14 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022."Euro de natation - Roos Vanotterdijk en finale du 100 m papillon" (in French). RTL Info. 14 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022."Roos Vanotterdijk zwemt met 6e tijd naar finale 100m vlinderslag op EK" (in Dutch). Sporza. 14 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022. The following morning, she qualified for the semifinals of the 100 metre backstroke with a 1:01.39 and overall rank of thirteenth in the preliminaries.LEN (15 August 2022). "European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Results 100m Backstroke Women Preliminary". Microplus. Retrieved 15 August 2022. Later in the day, in the final of the 100 metre butterfly, she placed eighth with a time of 58.74 seconds.LEN (15 August 2022). "European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Results 100m Butterfly Women Final". Microplus. Retrieved 15 August 2022."Vermoeide Roos Vanotterdijk en Alisée Pisane tikken beiden als 8e aan in finale op EK zwemmen" (in Dutch). Sporza. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022."Euro de natation: la Limbourgeoise Roos Vanotterdijk 8e en finale du 100m papillon" (in French). L'Avenir. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022. Approximately 20 minutes later, she was one of three swimmers born after 2004 to compete in the semifinals of the 100 metre backstroke, where she placed fourteenth with a time of 1:01.61.LEN (15 August 2022). "European Aquatics Championships Roma 2022: Results 100m Backstroke Women Semi-Final". Microplus. Retrieved 15 August 2022.

2022 Swimming World Cup