Inge Dekker, 3-time Olympian from the Netherlands, has confirmed to SwimSwam that she will be dropping the women’s 100m butterfly event from her 2016 Olympic Games schedule. Dekker will instead focus on the women’s 50m freestyle individual event and the 4x100m freestyle relay.
Dekker has quietly been making her comeback to the pool after dealing with a cervical cancer diagnosis and subsequent surgery. The 30-year-old was diagnosed with the disease just in February of this year and underwent successful surgery in March, putting her 2016 Olympic dream on temporarily on hold.
But, after solid comeback performances at the Sette Colli Trophy, the 2016 French Open, as well as this year’s KNZB Challenger, the remarkably resilient Dekker was named to her nation’s 17-strong Olympic roster for Rio.
57.68 is the time in which Dekker was entered in the for 1fly for the 2016 Olympic Games, a mark which slotted the Dutch sprinter in the top 15 in the world.
Dekker brings a top 30 50m freestyle time of 25.08 to Rio, while the Dutch 4x100m freestyle relay squad carries the 2nd-fastest time in the world to the Olympic Aquatics Centre.
The Dutch sprint relay has earned a medal at the last 3 consecutive Olympic Games, scoring bronze in 2004 Athens, gold in 2008 Beijing and silver in 2012 London.
Dekker isn’t the only swimmer to alter his or her schedule just days out from the Olympic Games. As expected, Singapore’s Joseph Schooling confirmed he is dropping the 200m butterfly race in favor of focusing on the 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly events.