Florian Wellbrock and Leonie Beck also triumphed over 5 km in open water and ensured a historic team success at the swimming world championships in Fukuoka.
Florian Wellbrock treated himself to an ice bath in the sun in the small plastic pool, while Leonie Beck read the numerous messages from home on her mobile phone in the tent next door.
The two double world champions bridged the waiting time until the award ceremony in the sweltering midday heat on the beach in Fukuoka in different ways, then the swimming stars unanimously presented their gold medals – with the German anthem as a perennial favorite.
“It works,” said Olympic champion Wellbrock after Germany’s fourth title in the fourth race at Momochi Seaside Park, laughing, and wondered “if something like this has ever happened before.”
Not until Tuesday: With their sovereign victories over five kilometers after the triumphs over twice the distance, the Italian-by-choice Beck and the Magdeburg provided a World Cup novelty.
“It’s unbelievable, I never thought that I could win gold again now,” said Beck, who started the morning after 15 seconds behind halfway through her race with a strong race to catch up and another irresistible final sprint. Wellbrock followed with a sovereign start-finish victory – like at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.
Even long-distance national coach Bernd Berkhahn was surprised by this German dominance, which even record world champions Thomas Lurz and Britta Kamrau could not achieve in their heyday: “I would not have thought that it was still possible to win quadruple gold with such a high level of performance. To be so superior, it’s fantastic, I’m thrilled.”
Swimming World Championship: Wellbrock and Co. want to follow up in the mixed relay
And it could get even better: With a success in the mixed relay on Thursday (1:00 a.m. CEST), the German open water swimmers could become the first team to win all races at a World Cup.
Wellbrock, who was planning to take a break from his cymbal competitions, would like to be there for a possible record-breaking one. “I’ve shown that I’m really very fit,” emphasized the 25-year-old before the team meeting in the evening, where the decision on the line-up was to be made.
Right after the start, Wellbrock let his competitors feel how fit he is with a water temperature of 28 degrees and 45 degrees in the sun. “The plan was to make the race as tough as possible for everyone right from the start,” he said, explaining the tactics he had used to win the Olympics.
“That was a bit mean,” said Berkhahn with a smile. Only the Italians Gregorio Paltrinieri and Domenico Acerenza could keep up with Wellbrock’s pace – not even his training colleague Oliver Klemet, who after bronze over ten kilometers finished fourth this time, almost a minute behind.
Beck, on the other hand, relied on her very own tactics: wait and see, then catch up brilliantly and win again in the end. This time closer than necessary because she had turned too sharply to the right after the last buoy and left the ideal line. After successfully qualifying for the Olympics on Saturday, a huge burden fell from her: “I’ve lost ten kilos”.
Now the 26-year-old, who has been living and training in Ostia just outside Rome for two years, was really happy about the many messages.
“I definitely got 1,000 messages,” said Beck, who with 100,000 followers on Instagram is the biggest German fish on the web, “I’m glad I have a few fans.”