2020 PRO SWIM SERIES – DES MOINES
- March 4-7, 2020
- Des Moines, Iowa
- LCM (50m)
- Meet Info
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Thursday Finals Heat Sheet
Update: Jacob Heidtmann swam a 4:12.40 in the 400 IM on Friday evening, which makes him the 7th German to hit a qualifying standard. His highest finish at last summer’s World Championships was 18th, so his spot is not locked-in.
U.S. based swimmer Marius Kusch has become the 6th German swimmer to clear the country’s standard to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after a 51.54 in prelims of the men’s 100 fly on Friday morning at the Pro Swim Series in Des Moines, Iowa.
Kusch, who trains with Team Elite under 2016 U.S. Olympic women’s head coach David Marsh, undercut the German Olympic standard of 51.80.
While he did hit the time standard, Kusch’s spot is technically not-yet secure. Germany, unlike most major swimming nations, is not using a specific meet or a series of specific meets to determine their Olympic qualification for 2020. Instead, German swimmers have to achieve the qualifying time between January 1st of this year and the German Championships that will be held in Berlin from April 30th-May 3rd.
At the end of those German Championships, the top 2 swimmers who have achieved the DSV Olympic Standard (all of which are slightly faster than the Olympic “A” time) will go to the Games. The exception comes for swimmers who finished in the top 4 of an individual event at last year’s World Championships. For them, once they hit the Olympic “A” standard during the qualifying period, their spot in Tokyo is secured and they cannot be bumped by a faster time.
Kusch, who was 8th at the World Championships, is therefore not quite locked in yet for Tokyo. No other Germans have hit the qualifying standard in the qualifying period yet, however. The next-best times behind Kusch in 2019 were 29-year old Philip Heintz (52.32) and 19-year old Luca Armbruster (52.54).
Kusch is the 2nd seed for Friday’s finals behind a lifetime best from U.S. National Teamer Michael Andrew, who swam 51.49. The 3rd seed is the World Record holder Caeleb Dressel after a prelims 52.40.
German swimmers who are qualified for the Olympic Games so far:
- Sarah Kohler (locked in)
- Floridan Welbrock (locked in)
- Philip Heintz (locked in)
- Laura Riedemann
- Marco Koch
- Marius Kusch
- Jacob Heidtmann
Near-misses by Germans so far include Franziska Hentke, who has been 2:08.60 this year in the 200 fly but not quite the requisite 2:08.43 Olympic A standard. She finished 4th at last summer’s World Championships in the event. Also close is Ramon Klenz, who swam a 1:56.79 in the men’s 200 fly, less than half-a-second shy of the DSV qualifying standard of 1:59.40.
GERMAN 2020 OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TIMES:
| WOMEN | MEN | |||
| OQT/A | DSV Olympic Standard | 400m freestyle | DSV Olympic Standard | OQT/A |
| 0: 24.77 | 0: 24.75 | 50m freestyle | 0: 21.95 | 0: 22.01 |
| 0: 54.38 | 0: 54.10 | 100m freestyle | 0: 48.50 | 0: 48.57 |
| 1: 57.28 | 1: 57.20 | 200m freestyle | 1: 46.70 | 1: 47.02 |
| 4: 07.90 | 4: 07,50 | 400m freestyle | 3: 46,40 | 3: 46.78 |
| 8: 33.36 | 8: 30,00 | 800m freestyle | 7: 50,30 | 7: 54.31 |
| 16: 32.04 | 16: 16.00 | 1500m freestyle | 14: 59.00 | 15: 00.99 |
| 1: 07.07 | 1: 07.00 | 100m breast | 0: 59.80 | 0: 59.93 |
| 2: 25.52 | 2: 24.90 | 200m breast | 2: 09.90 | 2: 10.35 |
| 1: 00.25 | 1: 00.00 | 100m back | 0: 53.70 | 0: 53.85 |
| 2: 10.39 | 2: 09.50 | 200m back | 1: 57.00 | 1: 57.50 |
| 0: 57.92 | 0: 57.90 | 100m butterfly | 0: 51.80 | 0: 51.96 |
| 2: 08.43 | 2: 08.20 | 200m butterfly | 1: 56.30 | 1: 56.48 |
| 2: 12.56 | 2: 11.90 | 200m IM | 1: 59.40 | 1: 59.67 |
| 4: 38.53 | 4: 38.40 | 400m IM | 4: 15.00 | 4: 15.84 |