Double gold for Dutch as China head medals hunt

DOHA: Dutch women ended a long wait with two titles at the world swimming championships in Doha on Friday as China also struck double gold.

On a night of first-time world champions, Marrit Steenbergen won the 100m freestyle to claim the first Dutch world title in the pool since 2013.

Barely 45 minutes later, Tes Schouten added another in the women’s 200m breaststroke.

Teenager Dong Zhihao won the men’s 200m breaststroke with a late surge and the Chinese men’s 200m freestyle relay team ended the evening by taking gold.

China pulled further away at the top of the medal table, five months ahead of the Paris Olympics.

Spaniard Hugo Gonzalez also struck in the closing metres to take the 200m backstroke gold.

Steenbergen, a bronze medallist in the event at the championships last year, won in 52.26sec.

“Today I did not really feel the pressure,” Steenbergen said. “I was just trying to have fun and I tied to enjoy the race. When I do that I can swim really fast.”

She finished 0.30sec faster than Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey, last year’s silver medallist, and a gold medallist in the 200m earlier this week. Australian Shayna Jack was third.

Haughey led at the turn with Steenbergen in fourth, but the Dutchwoman surged through the field on the second lap to record the eighth fastest time in history.

Steenbergen collected her second gold medal of the week after helping the Netherlands to victory in the 4x100m freestyle relay.

Earlier in the competition the 24-year-old broke the 2015 national record held by Femke Heemskerk, a relay gold medallist at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Steenbergen also ended a 11-year wait since Ranomi Kromowidjojo won a 50m free world title.