Olympic champion Florian Wellbrock missed gold in the 1500 m freestyle at the end of the World Swimming Championships in Doha. After three disappointing races, the 26-year-old secured silver in 14:44.61 minutes in his last appearance in Qatar on Sunday (February 18, 2024) as well as an early Olympic ticket on his parade route.
“It was very good to have at least the ticket for the 1500 m for the pool competitions after the last competitions,” said Wellbrock. He was “very satisfied” with his time in February. I think it might have been a little quicker without the ups and downs of the last few days, but that’s how it is sometimes.
Irish Wiffen in a league of their own
Gold went to the Irish 800 m world champion Daniel Wiffen, who swam his own race with a lead of over ten seconds and was on course for a world record for a long time, while Frenchman David Aubry took bronze. Sven Schwarz (Hannover) came in sixth (14:47.89). “I’m very happy with the time,” said Schwarz. He is also “extremely happy” for Wellbrock that “after this misery, you could almost say, he was able to regain his footing and is already having a good time and a good placement.”
At the start of the title fights, Wellbrock had lost his two open water titles over five and ten kilometers and was eliminated in the preliminary heat at the start of the pool competitions over 800 m. This time he was able to avert a debacle like at the last World Championships in Fukuoka, when he missed the finals over 800 and 1500 m, and now won his tenth World Championship medal over the longer distance on the last day of the competition.
Six medals for the DSV
The man from Magdeburg and his teammates won a total of six medals in the pool competitions in Qatar and, with one gold, two silver and three bronze, ensured the best World Cup performance since 2009. “The medals are not the most important thing, but rather the Olympic qualifications.” , emphasized national coach Bernd Berkhahn, “they did a great job.”
Above all, Wellbrock’s Magdeburg teammate Isabel Gose, who took advantage of her opportunities in the absence of many top stars such as the American record world champion Katie Ledecky and the Australian Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus. Only one title was denied her; after bronze in the 400 and 1500 m freestyle, the gold medal slipped away from her by nine hundredths of a second on Saturday in the closest World Cup final in the 800 m freestyle since 1994.