In 2001, a mere 13-year-old girl stood at the edge, ready to dive into the water for her first international championship - Not in Denmark, but in Spain. Far away from her parents, the familiar swimming pool, and potatoes with brown gravy. Everything was different. Nevertheless, this young girl embraced these unfamiliar surroundings, leading to several final placements in swimming competitions. Mind you, these were her first finals out of hundreds to come.
The girl in 2001 was Jeanette Ottesen. The championship was the Youth Olympics. And just one year prior, Jeanette had started swimming.
This is where Jeanette's swimming journey began, in the year 2000, at the age of 12. With no swimming background other than the obligatory splashing around in pools during vacations and at the local swimming pool, Jeanette began attending a weekly swimming class. She found herself among older kids on the team, mainly because most kids start swimming at the age of 7 or 8, making her peers much better swimmers than Jeanette and already on the advanced swimming teams.
But it's no surprise that Jeanette Ottesen quickly caught up.
With what she describes as a “natural flow in the water,” Jeanette Ottesen swiftly progressed from the beginner's group to the dolphin group and then to talent-1 within a year, ultimately swimming for Lyngby Swimming Club's first team.
And now we circle back to her first international championship, the Youth Olympics, where Jeanette Ottesen competed at the young age of 13.
Fortunately, her swimming career didn't end there. What followed is Danish sports history, with Jeanette Ottesen as the most accomplished athlete ever.
Interview with Jeanette 16 years later
Here at Watery.ie, we have gained an exclusive insight into Jeanette as a person, her career, highlights, and, most importantly, the story of her journey from a 12-year-old beginner to a world champion in the video below.
She also reveals how her relationship with the other two Danish swimming stars, Rikke Møller Pedersen and Lotte Friis, evolved over the years and how they used each other's rivalry to become better athletes.
So come behind the scenes with Denmark's most accomplished athlete - as she truly is:
Jeanette Ottesen's Swimming Career - Briefly Told
Immediately after her initial international debut at the Youth Olympics at the age of 13, it took only three years before the actual Olympics awaited Jeanette.
In 2004, at just 16 years old, she participated in her first Olympics. Jeanette didn't qualify individually, but the Danish Sports Federation's board chose to include her in the 4×100m medley relay, where Jeanette was already Denmark's fastest butterfly swimmer and thus secured her place in the relay.
At the Olympics, she also had the opportunity to swim the 100m freestyle individually, which surprisingly resulted in a 17th place. The relay team narrowly missed the finals, finishing in 9th place.
But Jeanette's international swimming career had officially begun.
The following years saw participation in European championships, where in 2004, she secured a 4th place in the 50m butterfly, competing against the best swimmers in Europe at just 16 years old.
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The next Olympics awaited in Beijing in 2008, where Jeanette Ottesen, in contrast to her first Olympics four years earlier, was experienced and familiar with the Olympic atmosphere. This led to her best international result so far, a 5th place in the 100m freestyle.
Back in Europe, Jeanette participated in the 2009 World Championships in long course swimming, where her best result was a 7th place in the 100m freestyle.
However, the significant international breakthrough came two years later when she surprisingly became the world champion in the 100m freestyle at the Long Course World Championships in Shanghai in 2011. This event is equivalent to the 100m sprint in athletics.
In a very close final, she ended up sharing the gold and title with Belarusian swimmer Aleksandra Herasimenia, both clocking the same time of 53 seconds and 45 hundredths. Notably, this was only the second time Denmark had a world champion in swimming - Lotte Friis being the other.
At the end of 2011, Jeanette Ottesen received the award for the Danish Swimmer of the Year due to this fantastic achievement.
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Now, we return to an Olympic year, namely the 2012 Olympics in London, where Jeanette swam in the 50m freestyle (semifinal), 100m freestyle (final), and the 4×100m medley relay (final). However, this Olympics was different from the two previous ones.
As the reigning world champion in the queen's distance just a year before, there were high expectations for Jeanette and the rest of the Danish national swim team. Especially for Jeanette, these expectations were something she had confirmed herself – she wanted to bring home a medal.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
On the 7th of September 2013, Jeanette's swimsuit tore just 10 minutes before the start of the 100m freestyle final. This stressed her immensely, and only because the judges waited for the new suit to arrive did she make it to the starting block. However, the stressful lead-up meant that Jeanette went out too fast in the first 50 metres of the 100, causing her to struggle on the way back.
As a result, high expectations led to immense disappointment - a 7th place, far from the medals.
After the Olympics, Jeanette faced the question: “Do I want to continue this for another four years until the next Olympics? I've won everything except the Olympics; is it worth trying again?”
And fortunately, she came to the conclusion that it was worth one more try.
Jeanette was then ready for the World Championships in Barcelona in the summer of 2013, where she thankfully achieved redemption with a world champion title in the 50m butterfly.
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The following year, in 2014, she secured yet another title - European champion in the 100m butterfly and as part of the Danish medley relay team. The former remains Jeanette Ottesen's most significant victory to this day. She entered the competition as an underdog against the seemingly unbeatable Sarah Sjoström from Sweden. Just as significant as the disappointment at the Olympics two years prior, this victory was a huge relief for Jeanette. It showed that she could still compete at the very top.
And now, we fast-forward to the subsequent Long Course World Championships in Russia. Unfortunately, she couldn't beat the formidable Swede Sarah Sjoström again, resulting in silver medals in both the 50m and 100m butterfly. However, this second-place finish is no discredit to Jeanette, since Sjoström broke the world record in those events.
Now, Jeanette faced her fourth Olympics. An Olympics where it was almost all or nothing. This was her moment. Unfortunately, the championship started similarly to the one four years earlier - not well. This was the case for the entire Danish national swim team. Jeanette didn't manage to bring home a medal in the 100m butterfly or freestyle, Rikke Møller Pedersen also came up short in the 200m breaststroke, Lotte Friis was far from her best in the 800m freestyle, and the up-and-coming star Mie Ø. Nielsen also couldn't secure a medal in the 100m backstroke.
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So, the only opportunity left was on the last day of swimming competitions, where something incredible finally happened. First, the previously unknown Danish swimmer, Pernille Blume, won Olympic gold in the 50m freestyle, and about 1.5 hours later, the entire group consisting of Jeanette, Pernille, Mie, and Rikke was ready for the last race of them all: the 4×100m medley relay. It was the last chance for both Rikke and Jeanette. And they finally did it. In a very close race, the Danish team managed to secure a 3rd place - and thus, Jeanette got the Olympic medal she had fought so hard for over 12 years. The collection and the career were complete, and a new life awaited her away from the pool.
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After a wedding, 9 months of pregnancy, and a year away from the pool, Jeanette resumed her swimming career at the beginning of 2018, with the ultimate culmination being the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after 16 years among the absolute swimming elite.
Whether she qualifies for the Olympics is still uncertain. However, at the Danish Open in 2018, she swam fast enough to meet the qualifying times for the 50m and 100m butterfly events at the upcoming 2018 World Championships.
Even though her swimming career is not yet finished, Jeanette Ottesen can still look back on a career with the most international medals in Denmark's history, including an Olympic medal, several World Championship titles, numerous European Championship medals, and over 100 Danish Championship medals.
Bio – Jeanette Ottesen
- Born in 1987
- Raised in Lyngby - currently residing in Copenhagen
- Former world champion in 50 and 100 metres butterfly
- Olympic bronze medallist in 2016
- The most accomplished Danish athlete ever, with over 50 international medals
- Married to Marco Loughran
- Mother to a daughter
- Specialized in the Crawl and butterfly
- Currently swimming for Farum Swimming Club (since 2019)
Become as proficient in the butterfly as Jeanette
There is no doubt that Jeanette is a genuine natural talent at swimming. A significant part of her aquatic prowess also comes from two decades of hard work in the pool.
These two factors combined have made Jeanette a two-time world champion in both the 50-metre and 100-metre butterfly.
And now, you can learn Jeanette's very best tips for swimming the butterfly fast and correctly – just watch the video below:
Would you like to read about Lotte Friis and Rikke Møller Pedersen as well?
At Watery, we have established a strong collaboration with not only Jeanette Ottesen, whom you have just read about, but also Lotte Friis and Rikke Møller Pedersen.
In fact, we have written comprehensive features about the careers of these two athletes. And I must say that they are at least as exciting (and you'll also find unique video stories and tips and tricks for your swimming).
You can find and read about Rikke Møller Pedersen here.
You can find and read about Lotte Friis here.
I would be very pleased if you could spare 30 seconds to leave a comment below with your thoughts on our collaboration with Lotte, Jeanette, and Rikke, perhaps your opinions on our videos, and any suggestions for improvement.
Lastly, I would like to say thank you for reading all the way down here. I hope you found it exciting and learned a thing or three about Denmark's swimming queen.