European Aquatics Athlete of the Year Awards 2025: women’s swimming nominees
Simona Quadarella of Italy defended her world 800m and 1500m freestyle titles in Singapore, finishing fourth at the shorter distance in a European record of 8:12.81 and earning 1500m silver behind Paris 2024 champion Katy Ledecky of the United States in an European record of 15:31.79.
Quadarella earned further honours at the European Aquatics Short Course Championships, where she took 400m and 800m freestyle silver behind Germany’s Isabel Gose before winning 1500m gold in 15:29.93.
Twenty-year-old Roos Vanotterdijk of Belgium enjoyed a breakthrough year that demonstrated her virtuosity across different disciplines and at different levels.
She began by winning three golds at the second European Aquatics U23 Championships in Samorin – in the 50m backstroke and the 50m and 100m butterfly – as well as silvers in the 50m freestyle and the 100m backstroke.
The reigning European 100m butterfly champion then became a regular visitor to the podium in senior swimming as she earned her first two world medals – 100m butterfly silver and 50m butterfly bronze – in Singapore before adding two silvers at the European Aquatics Short Course Swimming Championships, in the same two events.
Germany’s Anna Elendt went one better than the world 100m breaststroke silver she earned in 2022 as she won gold in that event at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
The 26-year-old from Dreieich secured her first international title in a national record of 1:05.19 ahead of Kate Douglass of the United States and China’s Tang Qianting.
She finished the year with a second title after taking gold at the European Aquatics Short Course Swimming Championships in Lublin, winning the 200m breaststroke in 2:18.16.
Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte won the world 50m breaststroke title for a fourth consecutive time in Singapore, clocking 29.55 to hold off China’s Olympic 100m breaststroke silver medallist and world champion Tang Qiantang, who had taken 50m silver behind her at the 2024 edition.
The 28-year-old from Kaunas added another medal to her vast collection when she earned 50m breaststroke silver behind Estonia’s 18-year-old Eneli Jefimova at the European Aquatics Short Course Swimming Championships.
Marrit Steenbergen of The Netherlands made a successful defence of her world 100m freestyle title in Singapore, clocking 52.55 to finish ahead of Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan and Torri Huske of the United States.
She also helped her country earn bronze in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay.
Steenbergen concluded her 2025 season in spectacular fashion as she won five golds at the European Aquatics Short Course Swimming Championships, setting five European records in the process – the last of them in her opening backstroke leg of the 4x50m medley relay,
Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics
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