After the final of the 200 freestyle, Kirsten Vlieghuis announced her retirement. She told our reporter: "Two months ago I decided to quit. I have gone through so many nice things, but now I can't motivate myself anymore to train hard and prepare for a big meet. When I wasn't selected for the commercial Philips-team and found I would lose Jacco Verhaeren as a coach, I first felt I should quit swimming." Now that she missed qualify for Worlds in Fukuoka, she has decided to call it quits.

Kirsten Vlieghuis was European Youth Champion in 1991 at the 400 and 800 freestyle and won 2 bronze medals at the Atlanta Games (1996). Those medals made her the most successful Dutch swimmer that year. At the World Championships in Perth in 1998, she won a bronze medal at the 800 freestyle.