Marleen Veldhuis

Veldhuis in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Magdalena Johanna Maria Veldhuis
Nationality	Netherlands
Born	(1979-06-29)29 June 1979 (age 45) Borne, Netherlands
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	65 kg (143 lb; 10.2 st)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle
Club	Nationaal Zweminstituut Eindhoven
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 1 2 World Championships (LC) 2 2 4 World Championships (SC) 6 1 2 European Championships (LC) 3 4 4 European Championships (SC) 17 3 3 Total 29 11 15 Women'sswimming Representingthe Netherlands Olympic Games 2008 Beijing 4×100 m freestyle[1] 2012 London 4×100 m freestyle 2004 Athens[2] 4×100 m freestyle 2012 London 50 m freestyle World Championships (LC) 2009 Rome 4×100 m freestyle 2011 Shanghai 4×100 m freestyle 2005 Montreal 50 m freestyle 2007 Melbourne 100 m freestyle 2007 Melbourne 50 m freestyle 2007 Melbourne 4×100 m freestyle 2009 Rome 50 m freestyle 2011 Shanghai 50 m freestyle World Championships (SC) 2004 Indianapolis 50 m freestyle 2006 Shanghai 4×100 m freestyle 2008 Manchester 50 m freestyle 2008 Manchester 100 m freestyle 2008 Manchester 4×100 m freestyle 2008 Manchester 4×200 m freestyle 2006 Shanghai 100 m freestyle 2004 Indianapolis 100 m freestyle 2006 Shanghai 50 m freestyle European Championships (LC) 2008 Eindhoven 50 m freestyle 2008 Eindhoven 100 m freestyle 2008 Eindhoven 4×100 m freestyle 2004 Madrid 100 m freestyle 2004 Madrid 4×100 m freestyle 2006 Budapest 100 m freestyle 2006 Budapest 4×100 m freestyle 2002 Berlin 4×100 m freestyle 2004 Madrid 4×100 m medley 2006 Budapest 50 m freestyle 2008 Eindhoven 4×100 m medley European Championships (SC) 2003 Dublin 50 m freestyle 2003 Dublin 4×50 m freestyle 2004 Vienna 50 m freestyle 2004 Vienna 4×50 m freestyle 2004 Vienna 4×50 m medley 2005 Trieste 50 m freestyle 2005 Trieste 100 m freestyle 2005 Trieste 4×50 m freestyle 2005 Trieste 4×50 m medley 2006 Helsinki 50 m freestyle 2006 Helsinki 100 m freestyle 2007 Debrecen 50 m freestyle 2007 Debrecen 4×50 m freestyle 2008 Rijeka 50 m freestyle 2008 Rijeka 100 m freestyle 2008 Rijeka 4×50 m freestyle 2008 Rijeka 4×50 m medley 2004 Vienna 100 m freestyle 2006 Helsinki 4×50 m freestyle 2007 Debrecen 100 m freestyle 2002 Riesa 4×50 m freestyle 2002 Riesa 4×50 m medley 2003 Dublin 4×50 m medley

Magdalena Johanna Maria "Marleen"Veldhuis (born 29 June 1979) is a retiredswimmer from the Netherlands. She wasworld record holder in four events (one individual event and three relay events). Veldhuis won eight world championships gold medals and 20 European championships gold medals. In the Olympics, she won a bronze medal in London 2012 in the 50 m freestyle, as well as three relay medals: bronze in Athens 2004, gold in Beijing 2008, and silver in London 2012.^[3]

Veldhuis was born on 29 June 1979 inBorne in the Netherlands. She was brought up in the eastern part of the Netherlands. Veldhuis had a daughter in June 2010, causing her to miss the2010 European Aquatics Championships, and she returned to swimming for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.^[4]

Marleen Veldhuis is a formerwater polo player which she combined with swimming. After she decided to focus completely on swimming, Veldhuis made her international debut during the2002 European Aquatics Championships in Berlin, at the relatively late age of 23, where she won a bronze medal in the 4×100 m freestyle as part of a team withManon van Rooijen,Chantal Groot andWilma van Hofwegen. At the end of the year, she competed inRiesa for theEuropean Short Course Swimming Championships 2002. There she won bronze medals in both relays, 4×50 m freestyle and 4×50 m medley.

In April 2003 she joined Topzwemmen Amsterdam (TZA) to train as a full-time professional under the guidance ofFedor Hes. At the2003 World Aquatics Championships it turned out to be a great decision as she reached two individual finals in the 50 m freestyle ending 7th, and in the 100 m freestyle finishing 8th. InBarcelona she also reached the final in all relay events but did not win a medal. In December she participated in theEuropean Short Course Swimming Championships 2003 where she won her first international titles in the 50 m freestyle and the 4×50 m freestyle. InDublin she also won silver in the 100 m freestyle and bronze in the 4×50 m medley. 2004 started off with the2004 European Aquatics Championships inMadrid. There Veldhuis won two silver medals in the 4×100 m freestyle, together with Chantal Groot,Annabel Kosten andInge Dekker, and individually in the 100 m freestyle. At the end of the week there was a bronze medal in the 4×100 m medley relay alongsideStefanie Luiken,Madelon Baans and Chantal Groot.

At the2004 Summer Olympics Veldhuis made her Olympic debut at the age of 25 and won the bronze medal in the 4×100 m freestyle, together withInge de Bruijn,Inge Dekker andChantal Groot. Her individual results at the Olympics were slightly disappointing with the 9th place in the 50 m freestyle and the 11th place in the 100 m freestyle. She was the anchor lady in the 4×100 m medley, she took over from de Bruijn who swam the butterfly leg, finishing 6th. At the end of 2004 she becameAmsterdam Sportswoman of the year.

In October 2004 she avenged her failed individual Olympic campaign by winning the gold medal in the 50 m freestyle at the2004 FINA Short Course World Championships inIndianapolis by beatingLibby Lenton from Australia andTherese Alshammar from Sweden. In the 100 m freestyle she received a bronze medal behind Lenton andSweden'sJosefin Lillhage. In December she successfully defended her 50 m freestyle at theEuropean Short Course Swimming Championships 2004. InVienna she also won gold in both 4×50 m freestyle and 4×50 m medley, there was a silver medal for Veldhuis in the 100 m freestyle behind FrenchMalia Metella. She achieved her best long-course result so far by winning the silver medal in the 50 m freestyle at the2005 World Aquatics Championships inMontreal, which was the only medal for her country during these World Championships. TheEuropean Short Course Swimming Championships 2005 were very successful for Veldhuis. InTrieste she defended all her titles from the year before, but now she won also the gold medal in the 100 m freestyle.

In April 2006 alongside Chantal Groot,Hinkelien Schreuder and Inge Dekker, Veldhuis set a world record and won the gold medal in the 4×100 m freestyle relay at the2006 FINA Short Course World Championships. She failed to defend her 50 m freestyle title ending third. She finished second behind long-time rival Libby Lenton in the 100 m freestyle. In the summer she competed in the2006 European Aquatics Championships, inBudapest, Hungary where she ended second in the 100 m freestyle, behindGerman'sBritta Steffen who broke the world record, and third in the 50 m freestyle. In the 4×100 m freestyle relay she received a silver medal together with Chantal Groot, Inge Dekker and newcomerRanomi Kromowidjojo. After these Championships she split up with her coach, Fedor Hes, and started to work withJacco Verhaeren, who at the time was also working with triple Olympic championPieter van den Hoogenband. InHelsinki she successfully defended her 50 m and 100 m freestyle titles at theEuropean Short Course Swimming Championships 2006, but lost her relay titles when her team ended second in the 4×50 m freestyle and did not start in the 4×50 m medley. Just before this championships she had betteredAnnemarie Verstappen's long standing 200 m freestyle national record.

In the spring of 2007 she took part in the2007 World Aquatics Championships inMelbourne, Australia. There she won the silver medal behind Libby Lenton. Veldhuis won the bronze medal in the 50 m freestyle despite being the favourite before the final. Alongside Inge Dekker, Ranomi Kromowidjojo, and another young talentFemke Heemskerk, she won bronze in the 4×100 m freestyle relay. In November at the Berlin leg of the2007 FINA Swimming World Cup series, Veldhuis broke SwedeTherese Alshammar's 50 m freestyle world record. Alshammar's world record had stood at 23.59 since March 2000. The new standard is 23.58 seconds. One month later she qualified for the Beijing Olympics with personal bests in the 50 and 100 m freestyle during the Dutch Open Swim Cup 2007 and competed at theEuropean Short Course Swimming Championships 2007. InDebrecen she won the 50 m freestyle for the fifth time in a row but lost her 100 m freestyle title to Britta Steffen due to a bad turn, finishing second. She also won gold in the 4×50 m freestyle. A few days after the tournament she was electedDutch Sportswoman of the Year.

In March 2008 at the2008 European Aquatics Championships inEindhoven, she won the 100 m and 50 m freestyle. In the latter event she broke the eight-year-old world record by since 2004 retiredInge de Bruijn with a time of 24.09.^[5] She also broke the 4×100 m freestyle relay world record, together with Inge Dekker, Ranomi Kromowidjojo and Femke Heemskerk, and won the gold medal. The new standard was 3:33.62.^[6] Veldhuis also won a bronze medal in 4×100 m medley alongsideHinkelien Schreuder,Jolijn van Valkengoed and Inge Dekker. In April's2008 FINA Short Course World Championships inManchester Veldhuis won four gold medals. Individually in the 50 m freestyle, lowering her own world record to 23.25, and the 100 m freestyle beating home favouriteFrancesca Halsall. Furthermore, she won gold in the 4×200 m freestyle with Dekker, Heemskerk and Kromowidjojo, bettering the world record. With Hinkelien Schreuder replacing Kromowidjojo, the Dutch team also lowered their own world record in the 4×100 m freestyle.

At the2008 Summer Olympics she won the gold medal in the 4×100 m freestyle relay together withInge Dekker,Ranomi Kromowidjojo andFemke Heemskerk, they swam just 0.14 seconds outside their own world record. Individually she did not achieve what she expected to, with the sixth place in the 100 m freestyle and the fifth in the 50 m freestyle.

Veldhuis kicked off her new season at the Swim Cup Eindhoven 2008. She qualified for the 50 m and 100 m butterfly at the2009 World Aquatics Championships, for the 50 m and 100 m freestyle she had already qualified at the Olympics. The next week, she won four gold medals at theEuropean Short Course Swimming Championships 2008 inRijeka,Croatia, in the 50 m and 100 m freestyle and 4×50 m freestyle and 4×50 m medley. In the 100 m freestyle she lowered her own European record during the heats, she also finished fourth in the 100 m butterfly.

During the Amsterdam Swim Cup Veldhuis broke the50 metre butterfly world record and50 metre freestyle world record on the same day.^[7] At the2009 World Aquatics Championships inRome,Italy she won the gold medal in the 4×100 m freestyle alongside Inge Dekker, Ranomi Kromowidjojo and Femke Heemskerk.

In 2011 Veldhuis won a gold medal at the2011 World Aquatics Championships as part of the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay alongsideInge Dekker,Ranomi Kromowidjojo andFemke Heemskerk in a time of 3:33.96.

At the2012 Summer Olympics she won a bronze medal in the50 m freestyle (her first Olympic medal in an individual event, in a time of 24.39) and a silver medal in the4 × 100 m freestyle.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMarleen Veldhuis.

• Marleen Veldhuis atWorld Aquatics
• Marleen Veldhuis atOlympedia
• Marleen Veldhuis atOlympics.com
• Marleen Veldhuis at Olympic.org (archived)
• Marleen Veldhuis atNOC*NSF(in Dutch) (English translation)

• 1979 births
• Living people
• People from Borne, Overijssel
• Olympic swimmers for the Netherlands
• Dutch female butterfly swimmers
• Dutch female freestyle swimmers
• Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
• Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
• Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
• Olympic gold medalists for the Netherlands
• Olympic silver medalists for the Netherlands
• Olympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands
• World record setters in swimming
• Olympic bronze medalists in swimming
• World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
• Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m)
• European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
• Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
• Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
• Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics
• Olympic gold medalists in swimming
• Olympic silver medalists in swimming
• Swimmers from Overijssel
• 21st-century Dutch sportswomen

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