Olympic champion Florian Wellbrock missed gold in the 1500 m freestyle at the end of the World Swimming Championships in Doha. After three disappointing races, the 26-year-old secured silver in 14:44.61 minutes in his last appearance in Qatar on Sunday (February 18, 2024) as well as an early Olympic ticket on his parade route.
“It was very good to have at least the ticket for the 1500 m for the pool competitions after the last competitions”said Wellbrock. With his time he is in February “Very satisfied. I think it might have gone a little faster without the ups and downs of the last few days, but that’s how it is sometimes”.
Irish Wiffen in a league of their own
Gold went to the Irish 800 m world champion Daniel Wiffen, who swam his own race with a lead of over ten seconds and was on course for a world record for a long time, while Frenchman David Aubry took bronze. Sven Schwarz (Hannover) came in sixth (14:47.89). “I’m very happy with the time”said Black. He’s happy too “mega” for Wellbrock that this one “After this misery, you can almost say that I was able to regain my footing and have a good time and a good placement”.
At the start of the title fights, Wellbrock had lost his two open water titles over five and ten kilometers and was eliminated in the preliminary heat at the start of the pool competitions over 800 m. This time he was able to avert a debacle like at the last World Championships in Fukuoka, when he missed the finals over 800 and 1500 m, and now won his tenth World Championship medal over the longer distance on the last day of the competition. At the same time, the man from Magdeburg gave the German Swimming Association (DSV) its sixth precious metal at the World Championships in Qatar.