OSP INVITATIONAL COMPETITION OF THE SV NIKAR HEIDELBERG
- March 12-14, 2021
- Heidelberg (without spectators)
- Long Course Meters
- Website
- results
At the Heidelberg Invitational, 18-year-old German standout Kim Herkle set a new German age group record in the 200 breaststroke twice.
In prelims, Herkle swam to a time of 2:27.12, to chop exactly .3 off Julia Willers’ 18-year-old German age group record of 2:27.42 that she set in 2014. With her performance, Herkle also cut about a half second off of her best time of 2:27.66.
Then, in finals, Herkle unleashed a time of 2:26.04, cutting over another second off of both the record and her best time.
Herkle’s time moves her up to 7th on Germany’s all-time performance list, putting herself just over a second off of Jessica Steiger’s German record of 2:25.00. Plus, Herkle moves herself from 7th to 3rd in the world this season, putting herself in the conversation for Olympic qualification.
Currently, the German qualifying standard for the 2021 Olympic Games stands at a stiff 2:24.90. In order to qualify for the Olympics, an athlete must achieve a standard between April 1-18, 2021. During the qualifying period, there will be several major competitors offered by the German Federation, including one at the DSV in Berlin from April 16-18, in addition to competitions in Heidelberg on April 3-4, Magdeburg on April 10-11 and Dortmund on April 17-18.
Herkle will be moving to the United States in the fall, where she will be joining the team at the University of Louisville, under head coach Arthur Albiero.