Olympic swimming
This young German just missed the world record
As of: 8:02 p.m. | Reading time: 2 minutes
What a race: Lukas Märtens after the final of the 400 meter freestyle
Source: dpa/Michael Kappeler
Lukas Märtens caused a sensation in Berlin with an outstanding race: the 22-year-old remained just behind the world record in the 400 meter freestyle. Only Paul Biedermann and swimming legend Ian Thorpe were ever faster.
Shortly after his phenomenal 400 meter freestyle race, which was likely to cause a stir internationally in the swimming world, Lukas Märtens still couldn’t believe his achievement. “I didn’t expect that at all. I looked at the scoreboard and thought: That can’t be right!” said the 22-year-old from Magdeburg.
What Märtens showed on Thursday evening at the start of the German Championships in Berlin is a declaration of war for the Olympic Games in Paris this summer and an exclamation mark that may shock many competitors. In the end, Märtens narrowly missed the sensation. In 3:40.33 minutes he missed Paul Biedermann’s world record from 2009 by just 0.26 seconds.
also read
What’s more: In the history of swimming, apart from Biedermann, only Australia’s swimming legend Ian Thorpe has ever been faster. Until the last turning point, Märtens had even been on course for a record. He has proven regularly over the past two years that the 400 meters is his parade distance: European Championship gold in 2022, World Cup silver in 2022 and World Cup bronze in 2023 and 2024.
Märtens looks confidently at Paris
How strong Märtens currently believes he is in the 400 meters was evident even before the start from the fact that he was foregoing the 800 and 1500 meters in Berlin and thus also the Olympic qualification over these two distances. He competed in both at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and also won silver in the 800 meters at the European Championships in 2022. But they didn’t fit into his Paris program because: “For me it’s about medals in Paris, not about taking part in as many finals as possible.”
also read
He took it easy that his performance in the 400 meters had made him a favorite for the Olympic Games. “I set my own goals and do well to keep them in mind,” said Märtens. However, he also knows exactly what he can do. In view of his difficult preparation for the season, which was marked by absences due to illness, and the fact that he swam the race alone, he says confidently: “Something can definitely happen.”
The man from Magdeburg was not only happy for himself, but also for his younger sister Leonie, who secured her first Olympic ticket by finishing second behind Isabel Gose in the 400 meters.
also read
World champion Angelina Köhler became the undisputed German champion in the 100 meter butterfly. The Berliner already had her ticket for the Summer Games in her pocket and is now trying to win it in the 200 meter butterfly on Saturday.
