The German swimmers made a strong start to the pool competitions at the World Championships in Japan with two national records. Isabel Gose clocked 4:03.02 minutes in Sunday’s 400-meter freestyle heat, 19-hundredths of a second faster than her own previous best. Fourth in the heats, the 21-year-old qualified for the final in the evening (from 1 p.m. CEST). “That was really good,” Gose said. “It was important to me to swim a best time again, also for the feeling, for the head.”
Breaststroke swimmer Lucas Matzerath set another German record. The 23-year-old swam the 100-meter distance in 58.74 seconds, beating Fabian Schwingenschlögl’s previous best time from 2021. Matzerath reached the semi-finals as the third fastest.
Lukas Märtens, who hoped to win a medal, was also satisfied with his start in the title fights in Fukuoka. The 21-year-old qualified in 3:44.42 minutes as fifth in the heats for the final in the evening. His Magdeburg team colleague Oliver Klemet did not succeed. The bronze winner over ten kilometers in open water was eliminated in 21st place.
“I was able to conserve a few more strengths,” said Märtens. Looking at the finals, he said: “I wish it would be enough to win a medal. That’s what I wanted to do from the start and I’m going in with that goal in mind.” Regarding the German record set by his girlfriend Gose, last year’s runner-up world champion said: “Great! You don’t do that every day in advance. I’m very happy with us. I think it will be fine tonight.”
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Angelina Köhler almost managed to set a new national record. The 22-year-old swam the 100-meter butterfly in 57.23 seconds, the third-fastest time in the heats and was just a hundredth of a second slower than her German record in April. “I felt so good swimming. I flew correctly,” said Köhler. The men’s 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay was eliminated in the heats.
