Lucas Märtens from SC Magdeburg is a frequent starter in the title fights.
Photo: imago/Viadata
Lukas Märtens has already marked June 22nd in his calendar – because this Wednesday will most likely be the only free day for the native of Magdeburg at the swimming world championships in Budapest. Not having to start over 200 meters backstroke makes it possible, otherwise the tall crawl specialist is in constant use at the title fights in the Hungarian metropolis. And with full conviction. »200, 400, 800, 1500 meters freestyle and the relay – that’s a very tough program. But I would like to have a few more starts where I can try out my techniques and tactics a bit,” explains Märtens in an interview with “nd”.
The various tests of his swimming skills in March and April went extremely well. Märtens drew attention to himself in the pools in Magdeburg and Stockholm with several world-class performances – so that when he left for Budapest it dawned on him: “The pressure has increased a bit for me as a result.”
The big challenge on the banks of the Danube is to cope better with this than at the Olympic Games last year, when he also did not make it into the finals in any of his three individual starts with first-class preliminary performances. And that’s where Lukas Märtens’ personal highlight awaits: On Saturday, the pool swimmers will start their competitions, including the heats and the final over 400 meters freestyle. On this stretch at the Swim Open in Stockholm in April, Märtens crawled within 1.53 seconds of the world record set by his compatriot Paul Biedermann in 2009 – and now aggressively explains: “I think that’s where I can do the most. «
Märtens’ home trainer Bernd Berkhahn describes the eight freestyle lanes of his spring student as “sensational” – and is now correspondingly excited. »Until now, he had never been able to even begin to implement what he had achieved in training in competitions. He did that for the first time in April, that’s when the penny dropped for him,” the 51-year-old breathed a sigh of relief a few weeks ago. But the man, who has also held the position of national coach since January 2019 in addition to his job in Magdeburg, also demands: “Now it’s about stabilizing that and being able to call up the same services at championships.”
Open water Olympic champion Florian Wellbrock, the DSV’s greatest hope for world championship medals, even believes his training partner in Budapest is capable of a gold plaque – provided he can get his nerves under control. Märtens particularly likes this keyword, after all he learned his lessons from the disappointments in Tokyo. “I won’t worry about it like I did at the Olympics. I thought a lot about that,« the 20-year-old recapitulates and, like Berkhahn, refers to the World Cup qualification: »I tried to stop that. And that worked very well.«
To be more relaxed at the start, to do one’s own thing and not just look at the competition – to internalize this, one-on-one talks with a psychologist in Magdeburg helped him in particular. “We are already working on it,” reports Märtens, “to develop the right tactics and automatisms for me for competitions like the Olympic Games in Paris.”
First of all, however, the World Championships are coming up in the Hungarian metropolis, and in mid-August the international swimming elite will also be able to attend the European Championships in Rome. In this context, Bernd Berkhahn emphasizes that the DSV has focused on both title fights. He describes the World Championships as “undoubtedly the more important championship”, but at the same time puts himself in the shoes of the athletes.
“Being able to swim in the sun in the open air in Rome in August, in this very, very, very fast pool – I think that gives the athletes a lot, because the head plays a very big role,” he speculates national coach. And especially with a view to the 1500 meter freestyle, in which three candidates from his training group, Wellbrock, Märtens and the Ukrainian Mikhailo Romantschuk, are fighting for international success, he concludes: »I rather believe that at the European Championships in Rome there is a possibility to break the world record. Not in Budapest.«
Because he wants to complete as many starts and competitions as possible this year, Lukas Märtens thinks this double season highlight in the post-Olympic summer is good, but already suspects: »It will be difficult, especially to keep your head fit and the excitement up until the European Championships hold.« And some of the eleven lane swimmers of the DSV, who are now starting at the World Championships, even make a lightning trip to the German championships in Berlin after their last race in the Duna Arena.
The “finals” there begin on June 23, after the fifth of eight World Cup days at the cymbal specialists. Just like the frequent swimmer Märtens, Florian Wellbrock will also miss the “finals” – because in Budapest, in addition to the 800 and 1500 meters in the pool, he is also qualified for the five and ten kilometers in open water, which will take place in the second week of the World Cup stand program.
Breaststroke swimmer Anna Elendt flies quickly from the Hungarian to the German capital on the morning of June 26th. Born in Hesse, who has been training in the USA for two years and set three German records this spring, she will compete in the 200 meter finals on the last day. And Isabel Gose is also prepared for a quick departure from Budapest.
If everything goes smoothly, the woman from Magdeburg will step onto the starting block in the 800-meter freestyle World Cup final on Friday evening – and two days later she will swim the same distance at the German championships. “I’m totally open and I’m looking forward to Berlin too,” the 20-year-old explains to “nd,” but at the same time broods: “Whether I can still get top performances there is of course another question.”
