After Paris’s Olympic Games, swimmers Anna Elendt thought about just throwing in. Fortunately, the Hessin decided against it. Almost a year later, she crowns the world champion over 100 meters of chest.
Completely perplexed, Anna Elendt kept his hand in front of her mouth and looked at the scoreboard in disbelief. There the 1 shone against the golden background. “When I saw the one, I was completely speechless,” said the 23-year-old. Your world championship title over 100 meters breast is a swimming sensation.
“Being a world champion means an incredible amount. Especially because the past three years have not gone so well,” said Elendt. “We have changed a lot, we trained significantly more. Then seeing that it really works was just incredibly happy.”
There were last gold in the pelvis in 2009
When the native three -way realized her coup, she hopped out of the water and crushed – wrapped in a Germany flag – a tear of joy. Elendt gave the team of the German Swimming Association in Singapore the second title on the third day of the pelvic competitions.
At the start, Lukas Märtens crowned gold over 400 meters freestyle on Sunday. For the first time since Britta Steffen and Paul Biedermann in 2009, two German gold have won again at a swimming World Cup in the pool.
Unlike Märtens, however, Elendt was not one of the absolute top favorites. As the seventh of the semi -finals, she had moved into the final run and had already seen it as a success. She had to start on the ungrateful first track. There you don’t have the competition so well in view, it can be worse.
Anyone who has a train also has a chance
“I didn’t think to start from train one. But my trainer said: If I have a train, I also have a chance. We worked a lot over 200 meters. So maybe I was so strong over the last 15 meters,” said the Hessin.
At the turn, she was still in second place. In the end, she struck after 1: 05.19 minutes, setting up a German record and won ahead of Kate Douglass from the USA and bronze winner Tang Qianting from China.
No college, no pressure
The swimmer from SG Frankfurt, who lives in the USA, won over 100 meters of chest in Budapest in 2022. After that, it often did not go as desired – also because misery at college had a lot of stress and put himself under pressure. With their degrees in the subjects of business and sports management, a lot has become easier.
“I feel much more relaxed and much happier than the past few years,” she said. “It is really the case that I only swim for myself. That I don’t have to swim for college.” The 23-year-old added: “If I really don’t feel like it anymore, I could say I stop tomorrow. Of course that’s not the plan, but it just takes the pressure out.”
End of career was an option
After her victory, she explained that a career end after the disappointing Olympic Games last summer was actually an option.
“After Paris, after it wasn’t as I wanted, I had to think a lot. In the end, the decision was whether I wanted to stop and continue my life without swimming or whether I decide to try it again and attack it again.” She decided on the attack and rewarded herself with gold.
Elendt: “Could really enjoy it”
“I have never been to a race like today. It was just a lot of fun,” said Elendt. “The last few years I have always been so incredibly nervous and thought, I don’t even know if I want to do it at all. Today it was just so relaxed. I could really enjoy it.”
The German team can hope for Edelmetall again on Wednesday. In the final over 800 meters of freestyle, Märtens and Sven Schwarz have medal opportunities. Breast swimmer Melvin Imuoudu has also reached the finals over 50 meters.
Malendt also gets back into the pool in Singapore – at least twice. On Thursday, the prelets over 200 meters of chest are pending, and the 4 x 100 meter layer relay on Sunday. Other sensations cannot be excluded.
