Florian Wellbrock Adds 400 Freestyle Title at Gothaer and Friends Meet; Lukas Martens Secures Two Victories
Coming off a victory in the 800-meter freestyle on the opening night of the Gothaer and Friends Meet in Magdeburg, German National Team stalwart Florian Wellbrock registered a triumph at half the distance on Saturday. Wellbrock added the 400 freestyle title to his weekend collection, thanks to a swim of 3:48.13.
Wellbrock was challenged by Arne Schubert during the first half of the race, but the veteran pulled away over the back half of the race, with Schubert placing second in 3:51.64. Wellbrock trailed Schubert at the 100-meter mark (55.34-55.50) but took the lead at the midway point, 1:53.92-1:54.26. At that juncture, Wellbrock had too much for Schubert and comfortably surged to the win.
Nina Holt produced a strong swim in the final of the women’s 100 freestyle, as she dipped under the 54-second barrier. Holt touched the wall in 53.81 to secure victory by more than two seconds. On the men’s side, Lukas Martens dropped down in distance to win the 100 freestyle in 49.52. Martens, of course, is best known for his middle-distance talent and recently set the world record in the 400 freestyle, becoming the first man to go under 3:40.
Martens also won the 100 backstroke for a double during the session. In his second win of the event, Martens was timed in 55.09.
In the women’s 200 butterfly, Alina Baievych earned the win, as her time of 2:12.63 bettered the 2:13.09 of Isabel Gose, who is best known for her distance freestyle skill. In Gose’s absence from the 400 freestyle, Maya Werner finished in first place, posting a time of 4:06.43.
Johannes Liebmann took the men’s 200 butterfly in 2:01.17.
