Aartsen first gained attention in 1992, when he won the title in the 200 m freestyle at the European Junior Championships in
Leeds. In 1998 he was a member of the Dutch winning relay team (4×50 m freestyle) at the
European Short Course Swimming Championships 1998 in
Sheffield. A year later he won the gold medal in the 4×100 m medley relay at the
European LC Championships 1999 in
Istanbul,
Turkey, alongside
Klaas-Erik Zwering,
Marcel Wouda and
Pieter van den Hoogenband. After missing the
2004 Summer Olympics he retired in the spring of 2005. == References ==