22-year-old Gose wins bronze with German record
Spectacular Comeback: Isabel Gose Swims to Bronze at the Olympic Games in Paris. The Magdeburg native is almost behind the medal contenders for most of the race, but fights her way to third place with a German record and the second German swimming medal in the final meters.
In the wake of the record world champion, Isabel Gose swam the biggest race of her life and fulfilled her Olympic dream with a German record. When the 22-year-old touched the wall as third in the final of the 1500m freestyle at the Paris La Defense Arena, US superstar Katie Ledecky was already in the goal - and became an eight-time Olympic champion for the eighth time. But Gose's joy was just as great: After winning gold at the European Championships in 2022 and three medals at the World Championships in February, the Magdeburg native was finally able to step onto the biggest stage.
After 15:41.16 minutes, the second medal winner of the German swimming team was eleven seconds behind the 21-time world champion, who is often compared to record Olympic champion Michael Phelps. Even the French local favorite Anastasiia Kirpichnikova, who was cheered on by the 17,000 spectators, could not catch her with her furious final sprint. But she was able to overtake her Italian rival Simona Quadarella. Her Magdeburger training colleague Leonie Maertens finished eighth.
For her biggest dream, Gose relied on the strategy of Lukas Maertens. The first German swimming Olympic champion in the pool since 1988 won the first medal for team D in the very first final of Paris. "Lukas already said it quite nicely: Anything can happen, nothing has to," explained the former girlfriend of the shooting star: "That's exactly how it was. I had the medal in the back of my head, but I wanted to take a little bit of the pressure off."
Gose's plan works perfectly
The plan worked: Gose oriented herself to Quadarella, who swam next to her, and had a neck-and-neck race with her. Kirpichnikova was in second place ahead of the duo and kept her lead constant. In the final sprint, Gose prevailed against Quadarella.
Gose had already proven her strong form as fifth in the 400m with a German record - even if this performance was overshadowed by Maertens' gold coup a few minutes later. She still has another chance in Paris: Over 800m on Friday and Saturday, she is among the extended circle of medal contenders as the fourth in the world's annual best list.
With Maertens, the native Berliner formed a German swimming dream couple for a long time - with the highlight at the European Championships in Rome in 2022, when both won gold in the 400m freestyle within a few minutes. The couple separated last year, but they continue to train together under national coach Bernd Berkhahn in Magdeburg. The coach has high hopes for Gose: "She is now very self-confident and courageous. In terms of endurance, she is one of the strongest here."
Gose's historic win at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris marks the first German swimming Olympic medal since 1988. Looking forward, Gose aims to claim another medal in the 800m freestyle event, ranking fourth in the world's annual best list.
Despite the separation from Maertens, the two continue to train together in Magdeburg under national coach Berkhahn, with Berkhahn expressing high hopes for Gose in Paris, emphasizing her self-confidence and endurance.
