Lucas Henveaux Grabs 400 Free Title, Sets National Record in 100 Backstroke at Belgian Open Championships
A month after helping the Cal Golden Bears to a runnerup finish at the NCAA Championships, Lucas Henveaux claimed gold in the 400-meter freestyle at the Belgian Open Championships on Saturday. Henveaux won comfortably over the eight-lap event, touching the wall in 3:46.76. That performance was nearly 15 seconds faster than the 4:01.09 by runnerup Simon Laviolette.
For good measure, Henveaux registered a Belgian record in the 100 backstroke while leading off the Liege Natation 400 medley relay. On the front of the relay, Henveaux went 54.26 to destroy the previous record of 55.01, set in 2023 by Stan Franckx.
Henveaux is the Belgian record-holder in the 400 freestyle, having gone 3:44.61 for fifth place at last year’s World Championships in Doha. Henveaux tied for 12th in the 400 free at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and at last month’s NCAA Championships, he was the third-place finisher in the 500 freestyle, 1650 freestyle and 400 individual medley.
Roos Vanotterdijk, the national record-holder in the event, captured top honors in the 100 backstroke. Vanotterdijk just missed breaking the one-minute barrier as she touched the wall in 1:00.00. Meanwhile, Florine Gaspard, who has been on a roll in the sprint-freestyle events, won the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.77.
Sarah Dumont doubled up on Day Two of the meet, winning the 400 individual medley in 4:48.37 and the 200 freestyle in 1:59.50. Noah Verreth went 25.43 to top the field in the 50 backstroke and Charles Grondel was quickest in the men’s 50 breaststroke, going 28.19.