Florian Wellbrock Prepares For Paris Title Defence With 10k Victory At Open Spanish Championships
Florian Wellbrock continued his preparation for his Olympic title defence with victory in the 10k at the Open Spanish Championships in Seville.
The two-time world 10k champion clocked 1: 50:13.5secs as he enjoyed victory over Hector Pardoe, the Doha bronze medallist who clocked 1:50.19.9.
Wellbrock’s fellow German Oliver Klemet – who is also set for Paris 2024 – was next home in 1:50:22.8 with Toby Robinson making it two Britons and two Germans in the top four in 1:50.26.1.
The race offered the swimmers an opportunity to prepare for Olympic conditions given it was held in a river with a cool water temperature of just over 21 degrees.
The River Seine is set to serve as the Olympic venue although it has been beset by problems and questions concerning water quality.
The Olympic champion swam three of the four 2.5km laps with the rest of the field before pulling away for victory.
In quotes reported on the German federation website dsv.de, Wellbrock’s coach Bernd Berkhahn said:
“He did a good job. All in all, it was a good test in conditions that we won’t have again in the World Cup series before Paris…….
“The cold drew a lot of energy, but everyone felt it in the end.”
The women’s race was won by Australian Moesha Johnson in 1:56:07.6 ahead of Angela Martinez Guillen (1:58:33.8) and Paula Otero Fernandez (1:58.39:4) with Olympic silver medallist Sharon van Rouwendaal (1:58:47.9) in fifth.