On day 5 of the 2011 German National Championships, a new star emerged in the form of sprinter Marco Di Carli. Following his win in the 50 free from yesterday, Di Carli rocked the swimming world today with a 48.24 to take the men’s 100 free. That breaks Paul Biedermann‘s National Record from Nationals in 2009 and pushes Di Carli to the top spot in the 2011 World Rankings. Only four swimmers were faster than that time last year, meaning that if he can recreate this result at World’s in Shanghai, he’s in a great position to final.
That’s a solid improvement from a swimmer who’s never been faster than a 48.8 in this race, and last year had a best mark of a 51-high. At 26 years old, Di Carlo is a big-time late bloomer for the German squad.
Biedermann was 2nd in 48.66, which is (comparatively) his best swim of the meet so far. Though it’s not an event that he’s likely to contest in Shanghai, the demonstration of speed will be important for tomorrow’s 200 free final. He’s relying on that race to ensure him a roster spot for the World Championships. Markus Deibler (49.11) and Christoph Fildebrant (49.15) were 3rd and 4th, respectively. USC standout Dimitri Colupaev took 6th in 49.49, which is a career-best time.
Britta Steffen took the women’s version of the same race in 54.14, which ranks her 6th in the world this year. That’s not a bad time for her, but I thought she’d have no problem swimming sub-54 after her solid performance in the 200 free prelims. Daniela Schreiber took 2nd in 54.74.
Steffen’s time left her a tenth short of the German World Championship qualifying time. German coach Dirk Lange, who developed the quick standards that stand as the fastest in the world, had quite the knack for placing the qualifying times just out of reach, as in the men’s 100 breaststroke, Christian Vom Lehn was also exactly a tenth off of the qualifying standard with his winning time of 1:00.51. That places him 9th in the world rankings this year.
This win by the teenager was a sizable upset over National Record holder and 50m champ Hendrik Feldwher, who was 2nd in 1:00.68.
In the men’s 200 back, both Yannick Lebherz (1:58.00) and Jan-Philip Glania (1:58.46) moved into the top 15 in the world with their 1-2 finishes. Disappointingly, National Record holder Helge Meeuw scratched the final of this race. He was one of the best in the world in this race until 2008, where he totally dropped the race after failing to make the Olympic final. I was hoping he’d take the torch back up, but apparently he’s sticking firm that the 200 is not in his plans.
Jenny Mensing took the women’s 200 back in 2:10.21 for her second gold of the meet. She’s the National Record holder, and while it appeared unlikely that she’d approach that hurdle, she was almost a second faster at Nationals last year.
Tim Wallburger won the men’s 200 fly in 1:58.22, and Franziska Hentke won the women’s in 2:10.79.
Sarah Poewe won the women’s 100 breaststroke in 1:08.69. That’s the same time she went at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, but nowhere near her best (textile or otherwise). Isabelle Haerle, on the other hand, posted a career-best time to win the women’s 1500 in 16:20.17, which ranks her 15th in the world this year.
For full results, visit here and click “Tag 5″ for day 5 results. Let us know if you can’t decipher the results, and we’ll help out!
Translations:
Freistil = Freestyle
Rucken = Backstroke
Brust = Breaststroke
Scmetterling = Butterfly
Lagen = IM
Frauen = Women
Männer = Men
Finale = Final
Vorlauf = Preliminary
Tag = Day
Abschmitt = Session
Startliste = Start List
Ergbenis = Results