Florian Wellbrock returns home from the swimming world championships in Budapest with five medals and continues to write his success story. The balance sheet is satisfactory – even if there is room for improvement.
Just a few hours after his last appearance at the swimming world championships in Budapest, Florian Wellbrock seemed relaxed. And that after an exhausting 10 kilometers in open water, which the 24-year-old did bronze medal brought. After two gold medals, one silver and one bronze each, it was his fifth precious metal at the competitions in the Hungarian capital, equivalent to breaking Michael Groß’s age-old record.
Wellbrock “super happy” with medal haul
Although the body is still “very drained and tired”, the joy of the successful conclusion of the World Cup compensates for the exertion. “I didn’t expect it to work out with five medals in five starts,” Wellbrock said in an MDR interview. “I’m super happy that I got through this showdown so well and can now go home with five medals.”
The athlete from SC Magdeburg started out as the defending champion and in the end only had to admit defeat to his eternal adversary Gregorio Paltrinieri and his Italian compatriot Domenico Acerenza. “It was clear” that defending the title would be difficult, said Wellbrock. “It was by far the toughest race, especially with the high outside temperatures. The two guys from Italy just couldn’t be beat.”
Florian Wellbrock also triumphed in the open water relay and led the quartet to gold.
National coach Berkhahn sees potential for improvement
National coach Bernd Berkhahn was also satisfied with the performance of his protégé. However, he still sees room for improvement. “We had to learn a bit by organizing the race,” said the 51-year-old, referring to the catering during the race. The Italians would have done that much smarter. “Gregorio fed himself twice every lap. And that was probably necessary. We probably underestimated that a bit.”
Medal rain by Magdeburg federal base
But that shouldn’t hide the fact that Berkhahn has once again prepared its athletes excellently for a major competition. In addition to Wellbrock could with Lukas Martens (silver), Sharon van Rouwendaal from the Netherlands (gold) and Isabel Gose (best European over 200 meters) convince other protégés of Berkhahn.
Wellbrock is full of praise for the work of the national coach. “He’s a very smart guy,” he says, “always with love and passion. He gives 110 percent for us every day. We train accordingly.”
EM in front of the chest, Olympics in view
The next test for Wellbrock and Co. at the European Championships in Rome is just seven weeks away. Until then, it is important to regenerate, because “the body has to process the last few days of competition first”.
As early as next week, the World Cup in Paris will be back over the ten-kilometer open-water course. “We can already test the Olympic route for 2024,” smiled Wellbrock, knowing full well that the hunt for medals continues.
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