Valentine Dumont Breaks Belgian 200 Free Record With 1:57.91 in Spain

2023 Spanish Open Swimming Championships

• Wednesday, March 29 – Sunday, April 2
• Palma de Mallorca, Spain
• Long Course Meters
• Results 
• Day 1 Recap

Belgium’s Valentine Dumont shaved .07 off her own 200 free national record on Thursday by winning gold at the 2023 Spanish Open Championships in Mallorca in a time of 1:57.91. The 22-year-old set the previous mark at 1:57.98 during the semifinals of the 2021 European Championships in Budapest where she ultimately placed 7th.

Her aggressive opening speed and second 50 split made all the difference; In Mallorca, she blasted a 29.15 compared to the more reserved 29.62 she split in Budapest. While this seemed to weaken her finishing speed, on the final lap she was about .6 slower than she was in 2021, it was still plenty to win gold and beat her record.

Split Comparison:

Dumont was a 2022 European Championship finalist in the 400 free where she placed 7th. She has also competed in two seasons of the International Swimming League where she took down the 400 free short course meters Belgian record in 2021 as part of the Aqua Centurions. 

The sprint and mid-distance freestyle specialist recently competed at the Pro Swim Series in Knoxville, Tennessee in January where she posted a 1:59.17 in the 200 free. There, she also came within three seconds of her Belgian record in the 400 free (which she set at the 2020 Sette Colli Trophy) with a time of 4:12.31.

This was Dumont’s first race of the 2023 Spanish Open Championships. She is also entered in the 100 free on Thursday, the 200 fly on Friday, and the 400 free on Saturday where she has another chance to lower a national record. She is competing with the Barcelona-based Spanish team CE Mediterrani this weekend which has a total of 25 swimmers racing at the meet.