Stunned, Florian Wellbrock hung over the line in the World Cup pool in Fukuoka. Teammate Lukas Märtens, who slapped him sympathetically on the shoulder, couldn’t comfort him either. For the second time at the World Championships in Japan, co-favorite Wellbrock was eliminated in the preliminary round. The 25-year-old collapsed completely in the 1500 meter freestyle on Saturday and was eliminated in 20th place in the heats.
Wellbrock clocked in at 15:10.33, more than 35 seconds slower than his German record over the distance – an eternity in the pool. He didn’t want to say anything about it. “Lukas will be right there for you,” he said in the interview zone of the Marine Messe and continued walking with a white towel over his shoulder.
Märtens with medal chances
Märtens, who made it through to the final in fourth place in 14:51.20 minutes, was shocked by the performance of his Magdeburg training partner and buddy. “I really liked the race, but during the race I thought to myself: what’s actually going on here?” he said. He had no explanation for Wellbrock’s second very weak competition within five days. The open water Olympic champion had already failed in the 800 meter freestyle in the preliminary heat on Tuesday. “I don’t want to get into that now either. He has to analyze everything himself with Bernd. I don’t want to judge him at all,” said Märtens.
Bernd, this is national long-distance coach Bernd Berkhahn. Shortly after the race, the 52-year-old was also unable to explain what he had just seen. “If I only knew…” he said to Wellbrock. “Actually, he is fit and in a good mood.” Many had hoped for a comeback like in 2019 from the native of Bremen. At that time, Wellbrock was also eliminated over 800 meters in Gwangju, South Korea, and was then crowned world champion over 1500 meters.
It went much better for him over 1500 meters: Lukas Märtens at the swimming world championships in Japan: Image: AFP
“The mental pressure was of course enormous,” said Berkhahn. “This time he didn’t get the curve.” The coach said about the well-being of his athlete: “Of course he is very disappointed. What else should you expect from a top athlete? He comes here to win medals, no question. That was also his claim.”
In the first week of the World Cup, Wellbrock had managed to do that impressively. In the sea off Momochi Seaside Park, he won gold over five and ten kilometers in open water. He skipped the subsequent season to better prepare for the pool races. The plan didn’t work out.
“Now it’s about rebuilding Florian,” said Berkhahn and added: “He did a great world championship here. He has twice become world champion. That is the priority for me.”
Even without Wellbrock, the German team can hope for precious metal on Sunday (1:16 p.m. CEST). Märtens, who won bronze in the 400m freestyle, is in strong shape. “I have a lot of confidence in him,” said Berkhahn. “Just as he is mentally at the moment, I’m looking forward to the race.”
Woes with a back injury
Meanwhile, breast swimmer Anna Elendt is struggling with a back injury. “We suspect it’s something muscular. It’s definitely nothing to do with the spine or anything,” said the 21-year-old on Saturday in Fukuoka after she had advanced to the semi-finals over 50 meters in sixth place.
Over double the distance, Elendt, who came second in the World Championships, was surprisingly eliminated in the preliminary heat on Monday. She did not comment on this afterwards. “It really started to hurt during the race,” she explained.
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“I haven’t been in the water that much since 100 breasts because I could hardly move. I worked with the physios and doctors every day. It’s fine since today,” she said. “It still hurts quite a bit, but at least I can touch my feet now. I can get on the starting block.”
