Four times World Cup gold in open water
German swimmer writes history
07/20/2025 – 10:59 a.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Florian Wellbrock was criticized last year after his Olympic disaster. Now it is stronger than ever-and has written World Cup history.
For Florian Wellbrock it is a story like in a fairy tale. At the Olympic Games last year, the then incumbent open water Olympic champion had to leave Paris without a medal. Just a year later, the German swimmer at the World Cup in Singapore showed everyone – and how. The 27-year-old is stronger than ever.
Wellbrock won gold again on Sunday morning with the relay in the open water, together with Celine Rieder, Oliver Klemet and Isabel Gose over 4×1,500 meters. Previously, Wellbrock already managed this feat over the 5 kilometers and the 10 kilometers and over the 3 kilometers in the Knockout sprint. Wellbrock has written history with this, because a swimmer has never won four open water titles at a World Cup.
Tokyo’s Olympic champion (10 kilometers) said visibly moved: “Four gold medals in four races, that’s incredible. I absolutely didn’t expect that.” The tension was clearly noticeable before the start. “I couldn’t sleep well yesterday because I was so nervous. I knew we could write history,” continued Wellbrock.
The exceptional swimmer did not burn anything in the water that was over 30 degrees. As with his victories, he dominated the field with an impressive overview. The Magdeburger countered attacks with apparent ease – he always had reserves. It is not without reason that he is called “professor” in the scene, a nickname that is supposed to reflect his perfectionism.
The Olympic second of Paris, Oliver Klemet, therefore said: “We wanted to give Florian the lead”. We did it so that he could do his job. “With nine World Cup titles in open water, Wellbrock, who had thought of stopping after the Paris disappointment, is on the way to the Open-Water legend. Only record world champion Thomas Lurz, who collected twelve gold medal between 2004 and 2013 at that time.