The Netherlands’ Marrit Steenbergen has been named the best female swimmer at the 2025 European Aquatics Athlete of the Year Awards, following an extraordinary season in the 50m and 25m pool.
Steenbergen, 25, claimed 36.29% of the vote after a season that began in Singapore, where she successfully defended her 100m freestyle world title from Doha 2024. She touched in 52.55, ahead of Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan (52.67) and the United States’ Torri Huske (52.89), before helping the Dutch team to bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
Her season reached new heights at the European Aquatics Short Course Swimming Championships in Lublin 2025, where she won five gold medals and set five European records. On day three, she captured the 100m medley in 56.26, surpassing Katinka Hosszú’s 2017 record of 56.41, and just ten minutes later added 200m freestyle gold in 1:50.33, beating Sarah Sjöström’s 2017 European mark of 1:50.43.
Two days later, Steenbergen completed another double, winning the 200m medley in 2:01.83—just 0.20 off the world record set by Gretchen Walsh in December 2024—and taking the 100m freestyle in 50.42, eclipsing Sjöström’s 2017 European record of 50.58. On the final day, she opened the 4x50m medley relay with a backstroke leg in 25.47, helping her team to victory and narrowly missing the European record set earlier in the session, having already set a Championship record of 25.64 in the heats.
Reflecting on her season, Steenbergen said: “I think the only words I have overall are ‘what the hell?’ I don’t really know what happened!”
Italy’s Simona Quadarella finished second with 24.48% of the vote. The 27-year-old from Rome defended her world 800m and 1500m freestyle titles in Singapore, taking 800m fourth in 8:12.81 (a European record) and 1500m silver in 15:31.79. At Lublin, she earned 400m and 800m freestyle silvers and 1500m gold in 15:29.93.
Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte, with 16.34% of the vote, placed third after winning her fourth consecutive world 50m breaststroke title in Singapore in 29.55 and adding silver in the same event at the European short course championships.
Germany’s Anna Elendt finished fourth (15.23%) with her first international gold in the world 100m breaststroke in Singapore in 1:05.19, later claiming the European short course 200m breaststroke title in 2:18.16.
Belgium’s Roos Vanotterdijk earned 7.66% of the vote after a breakthrough season at 20 years old. She dominated the European Aquatics U23 Championships in Samorin, winning three golds and two silvers, before claiming her first world medals in Singapore and adding two European short course silvers in the same events.
Steenbergen’s 2025 season demonstrated versatility, consistency, and record-breaking performances across both senior and continental levels. From defending world titles to rewriting European records, her dominance in short course events and continued success in long course competition made her the standout performer of the year and a clear choice for the 2025 European Aquatics Female Swimmer of the Year.