Drachten 2026 — Back in the Long Course

Last weekend I raced at the Open Dutch Masters Championships in Drachten (April 30 – May 3), my first long course meet since Singapore 2025. 🏊‍♂️ Eight months without touching a 50m pool, and training cut from 8-10 sessions a week down to 4-5. I went in curious about what the Singapore base would still hold up. 🤔 Here's how it went: Friday 200m breaststroke — 2:55.52, 4th place (3.30 off my Singapore time) 200m IM — 2:48.66, 11th place (first ever LCM medley) Saturday morning 4x100 medley relay — my 100m breaststroke in 1:19.86, 6th overall Saturday afternoon 100m breaststroke — 1:19.67, 6th place (0.04 faster than Singapore ✨) 50m butterfly — 33.17 4x50 mixed freestyle relay — my leg in 28.68, silver medal in the 200+ mixed category 🥈 A few things stood out to me, beyond the times themselves. The adjustment to long course happened fast. ⚡ Friday's 200m breaststroke was rough — first race back in a 50m pool, and I felt every meter. By Saturday afternoon, on my fourth race of the weekend, I swam the 100m breaststroke faster than I had in Singapore. Three swims to relearn the rhythm. 🌊 The silver in the mixed relay was unexpected and meant a lot. 💙 With my 28.68 split I also became the fastest ZVS master swimmer in a 50m pool — a small detail, but one I'll quietly enjoy. 😊 The bigger picture: the base I built for Singapore is still doing the work. 💪 Even with half the training load, the foundation held. That's the consistency story I keep coming back to — what you build doesn't disappear the moment you ease off the throttle. What's next is something I've been quietly waiting a long time for. On May 23-24, I'll race at the Campionatul Național de Înot Masters in Drobeta Turnu Severin — my first competition in Romania since 1993. Thirty-three years. That one's going to feel different. 🥹 And then the bigger horizon: World Aquatics Masters Championships, Budapest 2027. That's the BIG one — the next major chapter after Singapore. Drachten and Drobeta are stops along the way; Budapest is where the next big push leads. The journey continues. 🌊 #WaterShapesUs #AgeIsJustaNumber