Florian Wellbrock and Lukas Märtens got off to a rocky start at the World Cup in Berlin. Isabel Gose is third in the 400 m freestyle.
Florian Wellbrock already knew that he wasn’t at his full strength yet. And Lukas Märtens was also clear: nothing more was possible. The European swimming champion missed his gold distance 400 m freestyle at the short course World Cup in Berlin, as did Olympic champion Wellbrock, the final. Isabel Gose, on the other hand, swam to third place in 4:00.19 minutes.
“I can be really satisfied, for this point in time it’s a good performance,” said Gose, who, like Märtens, had secured the European Championship gold medal in August on the long track over 400 m freestyle. “Sure, there are always those little tenths under the four minutes missing, that would be a nice experience.” Siobhan Bernadette Haughey (Hong Kong/3:56.52) secured the victory.
Fire for next year to be kindled
Märtens was eliminated in ninth place overall (3:44.85 minutes). “It’s just not possible anymore, but we still want to start here at home and take advantage of the competition,” he said. Wellbrock, who is still swimming the 200m and 1500m freestyle at the weekend, finished 17th on his branch in 3:47.55.
Wellbrock had already made it clear in advance: “With the level of training I have right now, we don’t have to hope for any great times.” It’s “about gaining competitive strength, having fun and enjoying the feeling”. The 25-year-old wants to “ignite the fire in me again for the next season” in Berlin.
Most recently, Wellbrock, Märtens and Gose had to manage the balancing act between training and basic training for the Bundeswehr sports promotion group. However, the athletes rated the four weeks in September positively. “It was good to get some space because it’s been a very busy year,” said Wellbrock. And it was also a “cool experience” for Märtens.
Sarah Wellbrock also misses the final
Wellbrock was so slowed down by a corona disease in the summer after his historic five-pack of medals at the World Cup that he stopped the European Championships prematurely. However, he does not see this as a setback.
Instead, he was “richer by one experience,” said the double world champion: “The fact that I still stood there and wanted to fight made me very strong for the near future and gave me additional self-confidence.”
His wife Sarah Wellbrock celebrated her comeback on the international stage after a long break due to her law studies in the capital. However, the 28-year-old also missed the final in the 400 m freestyle (4:10.47). For her, the World Cup is “first of all a determination of where you are,” said the Olympic third over 1500 m, who, like Wellbrock, Gose and Märtens, starts several times in Berlin.
In addition to the swimmers, the water jumpers also contest their competitions in the swimming and diving hall in the Europasportpark. Lou Massenberg and Timo Barthel took second place in synchronized diving from the tower (345.33 points), Moritz Wesemann was third in the final from the 3m board (432.40). For the first time, two World Cups from these sports will be held in parallel in Berlin.