Ewout Holst is a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 former freestyle

Freestyle swimming

Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...

 and butterfly

Butterfly stroke

The butterfly is a swimming stroke swum on the breast, with both arms moving simultaneously. The butterfly kick was developed separately, and is also known as the "dolphin kick"...

 swimmer.

Holst's early years were spent abroad, travelling with his family to the various postings his father was given as a government official. It was whilst at school in Bonn

Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

 that his skills as a swimmer became recognised.

He gained his first selection for the Dutch Team for the European SC Championships 1998

European SC Championships 1998

The second edition of the European Short Course Swimming Championships was held in Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, England, from 11 to 13 December 1998...

 in Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

. He was disqualified in the heats of the 4x100m Freestyle Relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

 in Sydney, Australia. After a troubled period he decided to quit swimming after coming seventh in the 50 metres butterfly at the European LC Championships 2004

European LC Championships 2004

The 2004 LEN European Championships were held in Madrid, Spain from 5–16 May, at the M-86 Swimming Center in the southeast of the city. The championships brought together the European Championships in swimming , open water swimming, diving and synchronised swimming...

 in Madrid, Spain.

Personal best times

	Short Course	Long Course
50m Butterfly	23.77 (2001)	23.91 (2001)
100m Butterfly	55.21 (2001)	54.69 (2002)
50m Freestyle	22.30 (2000)	22.91 (2000)
100m Freestyle	49.38 (2000)	50.50 (2000)