Florian Wellbrock Fires Retort to Move to No. 4 in History in 1500 Freestyle; Angelina Kohler Sets German Record
In what can be considered an answer to the recent excellence of Irishman Daniel Wiffen, German distance star Florian Wellbrock became the fourth-fastest performer in the history of the 1500-meter freestyle on Friday night. Racing at the Berlin Open, Wellbrock delivered a time of 14:34.89 to edge the 14:34.91 of Wiffen from last week.
A seven-time World Championships medalist and double-Olympic medalist, Wellbrock supplied the premier performance during a stellar opening evening in Berlin. As five men broke 14:50, Wellbrock commanded the race, splitting 3:52.09 at the 400-meter mark and going through 800 meters in 7:47.75. Wellbrock’s performance suggests a big summer ahead at the World Championships.
Finishing in second place in 14:40.85 was Lukas Martens, who was followed in third by the Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuk (14:41.39). Also producing quality marks were Oliver Klemet (14:45.89) and Sven Schwartz (14:49.22).
In the women’s 100 butterfly, Angelina Kohler set a German record of 57.22, an effort that handed her a two-plus second victory. Kohler was the fourth-place finisher in the event at last summer’s European Championships. On the men’s side, the 100 fly was won by Eric Friese, as the University of Florida standout clocked 51.73 to finish ahead of Marius Kusch (52.14).
Ole Braunschweig turned in an impressive performance in the 50 backstroke, setting a national record of 24.57. Meanwhile, Isabel Gose, a versatile freestyle, showed her skill over the 200-meter distance. Gose touched the wall in 1:56.81 for a win of more than two seconds. For the men, Rafael Miroslaw was victorious in 1:45.83 over four laps of freestyle.
Lucas Matzerath was the lone man to break the minute barrier in the 100 breaststroke, going 59.54.