2023 German National Swimming Championships
- July 6-9, 2023
- Berlin, Germany
- Long Course Meters (50 meters), Prelims/Finals
- Live Results
The German Swimming Federation kicked off its National Championship meet on Thursday in Berlin. The country named its team for the World Championships more than two months ago, so for them, this meet serves as a final tuneup as well as a chance for national honors in the capital Berlin.
It was not just a race for Germans, either: internationals like Chad le Clos and Zsuzsanna Jakabos also raced.
The top German performers of the day were two members of that World Championship squad: Isabel Gose and Lukas Martens, each of whom picked up victories in the first day of competition.
Gose swam 15:56.80 in the women’s 1500 free, which stands as a new best time for her by more than eight seconds. Her previous best of 16:04.98 was done in April of this year in Magdeburg.
Gose, the defending European Champion in the 400 free, tends to more often go down in distance toward the 200 free than up in distance to the 1500. She won silver in the 800 at Euros last year and bronze in the 200.
The recent retirement of Sarah Wellbrock, though, opens the door for the 21-year-old Gose to rise to the top of the domestic table in the 1500 as well.
15:56 would have placed her 5th at Worlds last year; it took 15:48.96 to earn a medal.
It was Wellbrock who handled the medal ceremony for the women’s 1500.
“We have cried many times because of (Wellbrock’s) retirement,” Gose said. “It was actually already clear to me that it would come over me again when I found out that Sarah was doing the award ceremony. That was a very special moment because we are good friends too.
“It would of course be a great honor for me to follow in Sarah’s footsteps. I’m still at the beginning in the 1500 meters, I still have to get my head around it and develop my own tactics. Today was a big step in the right direction.”
Märtens was also satisfied that everything is going according to plan in preparation for the World Championships in Fukuoka.
Among the other day 1 winners was her fellow World Championship team member Lukas Martens, who won the men’s 200 back in 1:58.26. That win marked his first-ever German title. Though it’s still more than a second shy of his personal best, it is the fastest time he’s been in over a year, as the 21-year-old’s focus has been mostly on the middle distance freestyles (like Gose, he’s the defending European Champion in the 400, and also took silver at Worlds last year in that event).
His sister Leonie Martens, 19, was 2nd in the 1500 behind Gose in 16:08.54. That knoxks almost five seconds off her previous best time, and if done in the qualifying period in April, would have sent her to the World Championships.
Angelina Kohler won the 100 fly in 57.95, defending her title in the event. “I’m going to the World Cup with a lot of self-confidence. I’m well prepared, I have my routines and I feel safe. Now we’re going full throttle to Fukuoka,” said the 22-year-old.
Also defending a title on day 1 was Cedric Buessing, who won the 400 IM in 4:17.63. Buessing trains in the US at the University of Indianapolis and just-missed his personal best with that swim. He’s headed to Dublin this summer for the inaugural European U23 Championships.
From the international contingent, winners included South African Chad le Clos, who has been training in Frankfurt under Dirk Lange for almost a year. That swim is right on his best of the season (aside from the South African Championships where he swam 51.37).
Hungarian Zsu Jakabos, the 34-year-old with three European titles, won the women’s 400 IM in 4:45.37.
The German champions from Thursday:
- 100m butterfly men: Chad le Clos (SG Frankfurt) 52.11
- 100m butterfly women: Angelina Koehler (SG Neukölln Berlin) 57.95
- 200m backstroke men: Lukas Märtens (SC Magdeburg) 1: 58.26
- 400m individual medley men: Cedric Büssing (SG Essen) 4:17.63
- 400m medley women: Zsuzsanna Jakabos (SG Frankfurt) 4: 45.37
- 1500m freestyle women: Isabel Gose (SC Magdeburg) 15:56.80
- 4x200m freestyle mixed: SC Magdeburg (Leonie Märtens, Isabel Gose, Marius Zobel, Lukas Märtens) 7: 41.84
- 4x100m individual medley women: SG Neukölln Berlin (Lena Riedemann, Nele Schulze, Angelina Köhler, Lisa-Marie Finger) 4:06.42
The World Championships team for Fukuoka
Women: Anna Elendt (SG Frankfurt), Isabel Gose (SC Magdeburg), Angelina Köhler, Lisa-Marie Finger, Leonie Kullmann, Nele Schulze (all SG Neukölln Berlin), Nina Holt (SG Mönchengladbach), Laura Riedemann (SV Halle)
Men: Luca Nik Armbruster, Ole Braunschweig (both SG Neukölln Berlin), Eric Friese (Potsdamer SV), Oliver Klemet, Lucas Matzerath (both SG Frankfurt), Lukas Märtens, Florian Wellbrock (both SC Magdeburg), Rafael Miroslaw (SG HT16 Hamburg ), Josha Salchow (SV Nikar Heidelberg), Timo Sorgius (SSG Leipzig), Peter Varjasi (TB 1888 Erlangen)