Swimming

Isabel Gose, Angelina Kohler Log Victories On Day 1 Of 2024 German Championships

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By Retta Race on SwimSwam

2024 GERMAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS (OLYMPIC TRIALS)

The 2024 German Swimming Championships kicked off today from Berlin with the 4-day competition representing a last-chance opportunity for German swimmers to qualify for this summer’s Olympic Games. Slots for June’s European Championships and July’s European Junior Championships are also on the line.

As a refresher, according to the German Swimming Federation’s selection policy for Paris 2024, the following prioritization process for individual events will be in play:

  • Priority #1 – Athletes who achieve a top 4 placement and the Olympic Qualification Time at the 2023 World Championships
  • Priority #2 – Athletes who achieve a top 4 placement and the Olympic Qualification Time at the 2024 World Championships
  • Priority #3 – Athletes who achieve an Olympic Qualification Time during the national qualification period (April 1-28)

Right off the bat on day one we saw an amazing performance from Lukas Maertens in the men’s 400m free.

22-year-old Maertens fired off a world-leading time of 3:40.33 to check in as the 4th-best performer in history, sitting just .26 away from retired Paul Bidermann‘s seemingly untouchable world record of 3:40.07 that’s been on the books since 2009.

You can read more about Maertens’ head-turning performance here.

The women’s 400m free saw 21-year-old Isabel Gose get it done for gold, reaping a time of 4:02.48 to beat the field by over 6 seconds.

Gose is coming off a successful 2024 World Championships where the German ace took home 3 medals, including silver in the 800m free, bronze in the 400m and bronze in the 1500m.

Her 4:02.48 clocking this evening was only a hair off the national record-setting mark of 4:02.39 put on the books in Doha as a testament to the 2022 European Championshps gold medalist’s consistency. She already booked her ticket to Paris 2024 via her performance in February.

20-year-old Cedri Buessing put up another impressive performance in the men’s 400m IM, capturing gold in a time of 4:12.56.

Buessing, who swims for UIndy in the NCAA, represented the sole competitor off the field to get under the 4:20 barrier.

This is his 2nd 4:12-zone performance recently as just earlier this month he fired off a time of 4:12.33 at the Eindhoven Qualification Meet. That prior effort represented a huge personal best, crushing his previous best of 4:14.74 registered for gold at last year’s inaugural U23 Championshps in Dublin, Ireland. That rendered him Germany’s #2 performer in history.

As no one beat Buessing in tonight’s contest, his 4:12.33 from Eindhoven now qualifies him for his first Olympic Games.

In a heartbreaking swim, 22-year-old Luca Armbruster touched just .01 outside of the World Aquatics Olympic Qualification Time in the men’s 100m fly.

Splitting 23.84/27.84, Armbruster registered 51.68 where the OQT stands at 51.67. Tonight’s performance represents his first-ever foray under the 52-second barrier, destroying his previous career-quickest time of 52.10 turned in for 8th place at the 2023 World University Games.

The women’s 100m fly saw reigning world champion Angelina Kohler cruise to the gold in 57.61.

Splitting 26.68/30.93, 23-year-old Kohler handily defeated the field, with the next-closest competitor represented by Alina Baievych who touched in 1:00.42.

Kohler topped the podium in this event in Doha where she registered a winning effort of 56.28 after posting a new German national record of 56.11 in the semi-final.

Additional Winners

  • Laura Riedemann won the women’s backstroke in 1:01.34, less than a tenth ahead of runner-up Lisa Seidel who settled for silver in 1:01.42. No female has qualified for Paris in the 100m back.
  • Ole Braunschweig hit a mark of 54.21 to lead the men’s 100m backstroke. Although that missed the OQT of 53.74, he’s already been as swift as 53.48 which means he’s now provisionally added his name to the roster since no one beat him here.
  • The women’s 400m IM saw Noelle Benkler lead a trio of finishers who all touched less than a second apart. Benkler logged 4:48.07 for the gold while Kim Herkle (4:48.20) and Sophie Lenze (4:48.73) also landed on the podium.

SwimSwam: Isabel Gose, Angelina Kohler Log Victories On Day 1 Of 2024 German Championships

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