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Florian Wellbrock at the swimming EM: lost days in Rome – sport

“Italia, Italia”: While the Italian national anthem sounded in the open-air stadium in Rome’s historic Foro Italico sports facility complex for the next winner, as is so often the case at these European Swimming Championships dominated by the hosts, Florian Wellbrock announced his farewell. This Thursday, the world champion and Olympic champion flies back, he skips the open water competitions at the Lido di Ostia, where heat and stormy seas are expected at the end of this week anyway. The best German swimmer now has a fifth place over 1500 meters in his luggage – and the realization that he has spent completely lost days in Italy’s capital in terms of sport.

The 24-year-old swam the 1500 meter freestyle on Tuesday evening, actually his parade route and his first race at this European Championship, after canceling the 800 meters due to the after-effects of his corona infection. After just 300 meters, Wellbrock felt that he would not be competitive. The new European champion Michailo Romantschuk from the Ukraine, whom Wellbrock had accepted into his Magdeburg training group in the spring after the start of the war, and the Italian Gregorio Paltrinieri were far too quickly out of reach. But also others that Wellbrock easily leaves behind in normal form. Fifth-placed Wellbrock was almost 30 seconds behind Romantschuk.

“I’m dissatisfied with the result, but somehow I’m also a bit proud of myself for trying. Others would not have come in my situation,” said Wellbrock. National coach Bernd Berkhahn explained, “We cancel the competitions, he goes home, clears his head and we build up from scratch. We listen to his health, to his body, he needs rest first and not the stress of a Open Water Championship”. On the one hand, Wellbrock really wanted to start at this European Championship, he raved about the Italian fans, the atmosphere, the green, white and red sea of ​​colors in the stands. On the other hand, the question arises as to whether it would not have been better to let this EM be and regenerate at home. Especially since Berkhahn said in Rome: “We also have to think a few steps ahead, a European Championship isn’t that important.” A European Championship that is completely crooked in the competition calendar anyway, because of the World Championships in Budapest, which were pressed at very short notice in June, at which Wellbrock swam outstandingly and, in addition to two gold medals, won one silver and two bronze medals.

The preparation became a roulette game for the 24-year-old because of his Covid disease

Somewhere in the World Cup environment, Wellbrock should also have been infected with Corona, “at the latest at the open water competitions in Budapest it was clear that an incredible number of people were infected in the pool competitions. It got around a bit right from the start at the World Cup”. , Wellbrock told the SZ before the start of the European Championships in Rome. He complained of a sore throat, fever, cough and was completely out of training for ten days. Since then he has been tormented by constant ups and downs, which turned preparations for the European Championship into a game of roulette – and massively diminished his chances of being successful there.

Quite apart from how big the outcry from the TV stations would have been if the German swimmer Wellbrock had not started in Rome: With regard to the next few months, the coaches and he himself did not do themselves any great favor with their decision to let him start in Rome. While others like Isabel Gose, Lukas Märtens, Lucas Matzerath and Ole Braunschweig won medals there and Tina Punzel and Lou Massenberg won the first gold for Germany on Wednesday, the European Championship for Wellbrock gets a bad aftertaste after the result, which was indisputable for him.

Especially since he doesn’t have easy weeks ahead of him: A vacation trip is not planned, Wellbrock would rather train as his body allows. On September 1, he will start his four-week basic training with the Bundeswehr sports promotion group, “then you will lose training again,” he said. The short track world championships in Melbourne follow in December, but he did not want to start because of the long flight time and jet lag. Within six months, in June 2023 and February 2024, two more long track world championships (postponed due to Corona) in Fukuoka and Doha are on the agenda, alongside European championships and short track world championships, and, oh yes: in the summer of 2024 there are still the Olympics Games in Paris. “The competition calendar is crazy,” said Berkhahn in Rome. The start at this European Championship seems all the less explainable. In a 50-meter pool in Rome, in which Wellbrock then swam many seconds after the jubilation.

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