| Rikke Møller Pedersen | |
| Strokes: | Breaststroke |
| Club: | Herning Svømmeklub / NTC |
| Coach: | Shannon Rollason |
| Birth Date: | 1989 1, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Odense, Denmark |
| Height: | 175 cm |
Rikke Møller Pedersen (born 9 January 1989) is a Danish competitive swimmer specialising in breaststroke and from 2013 to 2021 world record holder in the 200 m breaststroke (2:19.11).[1] [2] [3]
In 2009, Møller Pedersen won a gold medal in the 200 m breaststroke at the European Short Course Swimming Championships.[4]
In 2010, she won a Bronze Medal in the 200 m breaststroke at the World Short Course Swimming Championships, while she placed second in the 100 m breaststroke and third in the 200 m breaststroke at the European Aquatics Championships.
At the 2011 European Short Course Swimming Championships, she won two gold medals, in the 4×50 m medley relay and in the 200 m breaststroke respectively, and a Silver Medal in the 100 m breaststroke.
In 2012, Møller Pedersen competed at the Summer Olympics for the first time.At the 2012 European Short Course Swimming Championships in Chartres she placed first in the 100 m breaststroke and she set the European record with a time of 1:04.12.[5] In this edition of the European Short Course Championships, she also won the 200 m breaststroke[6] and the 4×50 m medley relay events,[7] while she placed second in the 50 m breaststroke.[8]
At the 2012 World Short Course Swimming Championships in Istanbul, she won the 200 m breaststroke event with a winning time of2:16.08, the new championship record.[9] In Istanbul, she also placed third in the 100 m breaststroke[10] and first in the 4 × 100 m medley relay.[11]
At the 2013 Danish Open Championships, she broke the European record in the 200 m breaststroke (long course) swimming in 2:20.53.The previous record belonged to Russian Yuliya Yefimova who had set a time of 2:20.92 at the 2012 London Olympics.[12]
At the 2013 World Aquatics Championships, Møller Pedersen broke Rebecca Soni's 200 m breaststroke world record in the semifinals with 2:19.11,[13] but she finished 2nd in the final behind Russian Yuliya Yefimova with a time of 2:20.08.[14]
At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she won a bronze medal as a part of the 4 × 100 m medley relay alongside Jeanette Ottesen, Mie Ø. Nielsen and Pernille Blume. Here they also broke the European record with a time of 3:55.01.
In April 2017 Rikke Møller Pedersen competed in the Danish Open national qualifiers for the upcoming World Championships in Budapest. She took part in the 100 m breaststroke event and finished first with a time of 1:07.33, which qualified her for the World Championships.[15]
Rikke Møller Pedersen competed in the 2017 Stockholm Swim Cup. In the 50 m breaststroke event she finished third with a time of 31.45.[16] She won the 200 m breaststroke event by posting a time of 2:25.59.[17]
After a distinguished career spanning over several Olympic Games, she announced her retirement in January 2019 via posts on her Facebook and Instagram profiles.