A medal, an Olympic ticket: Despite missing the final, European champion Lukas Märtens looks back on the World Swimming Championships in Doha with satisfaction.
“It was a great performance, after all the things that happened,” said the 22-year-old from Magdeburg: “I couldn’t have dreamed of it better, I have to be honest.”
Märtens had repeatedly struggled with health problems since the beginning of the season and had to miss some competitions. In Doha, as at the last World Championships in Fukuoka, he won bronze in the 400 m freestyle and also secured qualification for the Olympic Games in Paris with fourth place over half the distance. He was eliminated in the semifinals of the 200 m backstroke on Thursday.
With a view to the highlight of the season, Märtens will probably concentrate on the freestyle courses again. “I can’t do everything,” emphasized Märtens: “I’m the best in the world at crawl, on all routes actually, and I can’t even say, now I’m up for it, now I can do a little something here. It works not that easy.”
Overall, Märtens explained that he was “super satisfied” with the competitions in Doha, “even though I narrowly missed out on a medal once.”