Roos Vanotterdijk wins Belgium's first European gold medal in swimming since 1995

Roos Vanotterdijk won a gold medal in the 100m butterfly at the European Aquatics Championships in Belgrade on Friday. The 19-year-old finished in 57.47 seconds, improving her own Belgian record of 57.82.

Vanotterdijk is the first Belgian to become European champion since 1995, when the country returned from the competition in Vienna with three gold medals. Brigitte Becue, now Vanotterdijk's coach, won both the 100m and 200m breaststroke.

Her result means that Vanotterdijk also qualifies for the event at the Paris Olympic Games. She has already qualified for the 100m backstroke. Vanotterdijk heads to Paris in top form: she won silver in the 50m butterfly in Belgrade on Thursday, making her the first Belgian to win a medal at a European Aquatics Championships since 2018.

Just 20 minutes after winning gold, she also qualified for the final of the 100m backstroke, winning the semi-final in 1:00.42, the fastest time of all competitors. The final will take place on Saturday night. If Vanotterdijk finishes in 59.99 or less, she will qualify for the Olympic event.

^{#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP}