Strange triumph
German swimmer Wellbrock wins silver – and just watches
12/10/2024 – 8:08 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
In a somewhat strange way, Florian Wellbrock was able to celebrate silver at the Short Course World Championships. At the moment of the decision he was already sitting in the stands.
Florian Wellbrock returned to the Short Course World Championships in Budapest with the silver medal in the 1,500 meter freestyle. The man from Magdeburg, who had disappointed at the Summer Games in Paris, clocked in 14:17.27 minutes on Tuesday afternoon – after hours of waiting it was clear: that was enough for the podium. Only 19-year-old Tunisian Ahmed Jaouadi was faster in the evening (14:16.40). Sven Schwarz from Hanover (14:22.29) came fifth.
At the Short Course World Championships there were no heats on the 25 meter track over the 1,500 meters. Instead, the races were held in different time periods, with the fastest run only taking place in the final section in the evening. Because Wellbrock hadn’t swum a short course race for a year and a half during the qualification period, the 27-year-old had to be reported with his time on the long course – which is almost 30 seconds above his short course world record time from 2021 (14:06.88 minutes). wasn’t enough for the fastest run.
So Wellbrock swam in the morning and didn’t know what his time was worth before the last run in the evening, which he watched in his tracksuit from the stands. In the end only one was faster and Wellbrock was able to celebrate silver in the stands.
After the Olympic Games, when he missed the finals in the pool competitions, among other things, Wellbrock competed again in the open water in November. At the World Cup in Saudi Arabia, the Olympic champion in Tokyo celebrated two victories over 10 km and the relay.
Isabel Gose came sixth in the 400 meter freestyle final in Budapest. In 3:56.84 minutes, the Olympic bronze medalist significantly improved her German record (3:58.91) from 2019. In addition, Marius Kusch (21.99 seconds) qualified for the final on Wednesday (6:42 p.m.) in the 50 meter butterfly.
Olympic champion Lukas Märtens is not starting in Budapest. The 22-year-old, who won gold in the 400 meter freestyle in Paris in the summer, had to cancel his participation at short notice due to a cold.