Wellbrock let the evening “end in a relaxed manner” with a friend, on Wednesday morning the plane went home – but not yet for the Christmas vacation. There are still two training units on the plan for December 23rd, only then can Wellbrock relax for three days and review his outstanding year: gold (10 km) and bronze (1,500 m) at the Olympics, world championships and European championships the short course, second place in the election for “Sportsman of the Year”, and to top it off, now his first world record.
Wellbrock also wants the record on the long track
Will the attack now follow the long-track world record (14: 31.02)? The highly controversial Chinese Sun Yang, who is currently on a four-year doping ban, has held that position since the 2012 Olympics. Wellbrock’s best time is around five seconds away, but the world record on the 25-meter track doesn’t help him, says Wellbrock: “It’s a whole lot of work and a difference.”
But Wellbrock will dare to attack, especially now. Especially since he knows Bernd Berkhahn, whom he considers the best coach, to be at his side as a home coach. “What is certain is that without Bernd I would not be where I am today in terms of sport and personally,” said the world record holder.
Purchase of watches as a reward
The total of 80,000 US dollars that the first German Olympic swimming champion in 33 years received as a bonus at the end of the year in the Persian Gulf will most certainly not be “completely on the head”. But he would like to put a watch under the Christmas tree himself as a gift that he has “had in mind for a long time”. When the money has been transferred from the world association FINA, he wants to “look again at my account balance and maybe put my watch on”. He truly deserves this reward after an outstanding year in 2021.
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Sport current | 12/22/2021 | 2:25 pm
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Status: 12/22/2021, 1:37 PM