Florian Wellbrock (from) dominated the race for a long time before he was caught on the last track.
Photo: imago images/Xinhhua
Florian Wellbrock saw disaster coming. When the German appeared after the last turning point and looked to the left while breathing, he suspected that the gold medal would no longer work. “You know the chances are not too good,” Wellbrock later said: “You try to tackle it with your head and your body, but you feel powerless when you see it really explode again.” was the American Robert Finke, who predictably destroyed the dream of the Magdeburg resident. In the final 50 meters of the 1500 meter race, Finke swam 1.98 seconds faster than Wellbrock. Two seconds are a world in swimming, actually more like two. Because the Ukrainian Mykhailo Romanchuk also sprinted past the hopefuls of the German swimmers, the 23-year-old was left with the bronze medal.
The last moments of the 1500 meter race in the Olympic basin had striking parallels to those of the 800 meter final. Wellbrock was in the lead there with 50 meters to go, and was then even passed through to fourth place. This time there was a medal. “At 1,300 meters, I saw Gregorio Paltrinieri fall back. It kept my head calm, ”Wellbrock explained. The Italian had snatched a medal from him over half the distance. Paltrinieri was not a threat this time, unlike the American and the Ukrainian – both had passed the German over 800 meters and repeated it over 1500 meters.
At first glance, Wellbrock, the 2019 world champion, had controlled the race from the start. From the 300 meter split he was in the lead throughout. With his handsome style he slid elegantly through the pool, found the “beams”, as the swimmers call the ability to develop a little more propulsion in harmony with the element of water. For the German Swimming Association (DSV), the first men’s gold medal in 33 years was within reach. In 1988, Uwe Daßler was the first to post over 400 meters for the GDR. After Sarah Köhler’s bronze medal over 1500 meters, a triumph of the gold hope Wellbrock should give swimming a boost – after the pool swimmers in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games were completely without precious metal.
The liberation failed because Wellbrock was permanently in the lead, but could not shake off the opponents. Wellbrock did not escape the Ukrainian or the American for more than six tenths of a second. At least with Finke it was clear that he would have the better sprinting skills. The 21-year-old was two seconds faster than the German over 800 meters on the last lane – Wellbrock knew about the danger posed by the man who was swimming next to him. The German therefore tried to increase the pace on the third from last and penultimate lanes, but that was not enough to take him sufficiently into the finish sprint.
After the race, Wellbrock was disappointed not to have hit first, but the 23-year-old was not frustrated. “I definitely don’t want to complain about a bronze medal at the Olympic Games,” he said – and seemed emotionally tidy and at peace with himself. The star of the German swimmers knows that he will probably have more chances to win an Olympic gold medal, in three years at the Games in Paris he will only be 26 years old.
It may also be faster. On Thursday, Wellbrock is one of the favorites in the ten-kilometer race in open water. “Now it’s time to prepare for the ten kilometers,” explained Wellbrock, he has not yet finished with the competitions in Tokyo. In the warm water in the port of Tokyo, the German has strong competition again, but no longer the high-flyer next to him in the last few meters. Robert Finke is not at the start in the open water.
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