Ole Braunschweig raised his fist into the Roman evening sky and celebrated his greatest career success, his roommate Florian Wellbrock was clearly happy about his own long-awaited Rome premiere: On the fifth day of the European Swimming Championships, backstroke swimmer Braunschweig gave the German team the fourth medal. The 24-year-old was only beaten by Greek champion Apostolos Christou and Italian Thomas Ceccon over 50 meters with a time of 24.68 seconds. “It’s just indescribable,” said the Berliner after bronze.
For the completely exuberant Braunschweig it was the first medal at a major international event. “You just have to believe in yourself, that’s what happens,” he said after the success over the non-Olympic distance. “Finally a sprint medal and not a long-distance medal. Great!” When it came to motivation, Olympic champion Wellbrock was also good for him: “Flo and I push each other in the room. We are the hype train in our team.”
“I have never been here”
Wellbrock was previously lackluster, but confidently moved into the final over 1500 meters. Satisfaction and a little relief were written all over the face of the top German swimmer. After days of waiting and training, the comeback after the Corona break was successful in the magnificent outdoor pool of the Foro Italico. With a delay, the Olympic champion is now also part of the big Italian swimming party.
“I really didn’t want to miss the opportunity to start here. I’ve never been here,” Wellbrock said after finishing fifth in Monday’s heat. He had struck after 15:06.18 minutes. “That was about what was to be expected. I’m happy with that for now.”
Ole Braunschweig wins EM bronze over 50 meters.
:
Image: AP
However, if the Olympic bronze medalist wants to fight for the medals on this Tuesday, he has to improve. Wellbrock knows that, but is easygoing. “We’ll be surprised if I can swim for the medals,” he said.
At the World Championships in Budapest in June, the 24-year-old won five medals in five starts in the pool and open water. Then a corona infection threw him off track. “I showed what I can do at the World Championships. That’s why I don’t need to go over the top here in any way,” said Wellbrock. Instead of starting himself, he used the first days of the EM to build up his form and enjoyed the atmosphere under the sun of the Italian capital. Wellbrock went out to eat with his parents and was happy about the successes of his Magdeburg teammates Lukas Märtens and Isabel Gose.
“You did a good job,” Wellbrock said, smiling. “Lukas in particular – he also had Corona and came back to the pool incredibly strong and quickly.” Märtens won silver in the 800 meter freestyle on Saturday, Gose also came second over the same distance and also secured bronze in the 200 meter. “Of course that makes you proud,” said Wellbrock. “If you are not able to swim for the medals yourself, the other two cover that. That’s a good thing.”
On Monday, Märtens didn’t make it onto the podium on a side track. He finished seventh in the 200m freestyle final. He was completely exhausted after the tough program of the past few days. “The legs have closed,” he said to the last track of the race. “The head then also said at some point: “Shit, somehow it’s not going the way it was before.”
The Romanian giant David Popovici won clearly as expected. However, the 17-year-old did not endanger Paul Biedermann’s 13-year-old world record of 1:42.97 minutes. In 2009, Biedermann swam the fabulous time of 1:42.00 minutes at the same place. Butterfly swimmer Angelina Köhler came in fourth in the 100 meter final after 57.90 seconds. For the water jumpers, too, the European Championships began in fifth place without a medal in the team competition.
