Florian Wellbrock lost his first title at the World Swimming Championships in Doha. The Olympic champion also struggled with the low temperatures.
Florian Wellbrock remained silent. After his unsuccessful start at the World Cup, Germany’s swimming star just wanted to leave. Away from the cold wind at the Old Port of Doha and into the warmth. “His legs were cramped, his whole body was shaking. He was lying on the back and was cold,” explained national coach Bernd Berkhahn after his protégé had lost his open water title over ten kilometers.
“He’s exhausted. He can’t even explain it, and he’s of course desperate,” reported Berkhahn. Wellbrock, who was an overjoyed double world champion in Fukuoka last summer, couldn’t cope with the cold like Leonie Beck the day before and swam to the finish in 29th place, 1:37.8 minutes behind the Hungarian winner Kristof Rasovszky.
“Flo actually got in well,” emphasized Berkhahn: “But after the fourth lap he noticed that he was getting cramps. The temperature was already limiting him.” In the morning, around an hour and a half before the race, the water temperature was measured at just under 20 degrees, the air temperature was only 18 degrees. At the beginning the Olympic champion kept up well, but then had to give up. In the end, “nothing worked anymore,” said the Magdeburger’s coach.
After all, neither Wellbrock nor Beck have to worry about taking part in the Olympics. The two DSV athletes had already secured their ticket for this distance during their World Cup double triumph over ten and five kilometers in Fukuoka – in 26 degree warm water.
Oliver Klemet can also plan for Paris with his bronze medal last year. But the Frankfurter also had problems with the conditions in Doha. “The first three laps were very cold, but it was rather difficult for me with the waves, the temperature of course also took a toll,” said the 21-year-old, who finished eleventh, shivering with a towel around his shoulders.
Swimming World Cup: Leonie Beck also dethroned as world champion
A day earlier, Beck had the same problems – in 20th place, 45 seconds behind the Dutch Rio Olympic champion Sharon van Rouwendaal. “Almost 20 degrees is very, very cool. It was also very wavy, so you lose a lot of energy,” said the woman from Würzburg, who lives and trains in Italy.
On Wednesday, the two defending champions Beck (8:30 a.m. CET) and Wellbrock as well as Klemet (11:00 a.m. CET) will race over five kilometers. Wellbrock is also aiming for the Olympic ticket in the 800 and 1500 m freestyle in the pool competitions in the second week of competition.
Whether he would skip the five kilometers was not discussed so soon after the race, Berkhahn explained: “That’s a bit early, he has to eat sensibly again. That’s important.” In the afternoon the team trains in the pool, “we swim easily again so that he realizes that he can swim. It will be a mammoth task to solve everything again,” said Berkhahn: “But we are doing the best.”
2024-02-04 11:39:29
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