Lukas Martens Posts 7:41.43 in 800 Free in Stockholm, Faster Than Olympic Gold
Performance of the Week, sponsored by Luma Lanes
A huge week for 20-year-old German Lukas Martens continued at the Stockholm Open as he added a third victory and his second performance quicker than the mark required to win Olympic gold in 2021. Martens previously swam a time of 3:41.60 in the 400 freestyle to move to eighth all-time in the event, and then he won the 200 free in 1:45.44. During Tuesday’s finals, Martens won the 800 free in 7:41.43, less than two seconds ahead of fellow German Florian Wellbrock, who finished in 7:43.10. Austria’s Felix Aubock was third in 7:45.32.
Martens’ time was quicker than the 7:41.87 that American Bobby Finke swam on his way to a shocking Olympic gold in the 800 free at the Tokyo Olympics, and Martens moved into a tie for eighth all-time. Wellbrock was fourth in that Tokyo final after leading with 50 meters to go, and he was also the Olympic bronze medalist in the 1500 free and gold medalist in the 10k open water race. Germany looks poised to head to this summer’s World Championships with gold-medal chances across a wide range of freestyle events, with Martens and Wellbrock overlapping in the 16-length event.
The top swim on the women’s side came from veteran Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden, who won the 100 free in 53.15. Sjostrom previously won the 50 free and the 50 and 100 butterfly at the meet, with her top effort coming Monday when she clocked 24.31 in the 50 free.
Another quick performance came from Swedish Olympic finalist Sophie Hansson, who placed first in the women’s 100 breaststroke in 1:06.72, while Denmark’s Helena Rosendahl Bach took the 200 fly in 2:09.65. Germany’s Isabel Gose was the 800 free winner in 8:29.31.
Greece’s Andreas Vazaios put up a sub-2:00 performance in the men’s 200 IM with his 1:59.61, and the men’s 50 free went to Israel’s Meiron Cheruti in 22.24. Norway’s Jørgen Scheie Bråthen beat Finland’s Olli Kokko by just one hundredth in the men’s 50 breast, 27.59 to 27.60.