- Wellbrock gives up the riddle: pre-emptive strike instead of medal chance
Florian Wellbrock took a shortcut after the next big disappointment. The freestyle swimmer did not go the usual way through the interview zone of the La Défense Arena, but disappeared first. As an Olympic bronze medalist from Tokyo, the 26-year-old failed to qualify for the final over 1500 meters freestyle. He finished 14th in 15:01.88 minutes: Wellbrock completely collapsed on his signature distance in the pool. The winner of the preliminary round, Daniel Wiffen from Ireland, was over 21 seconds faster than him.
"We are simply a bit shocked and sad that the race turned out this way," said Wellbrock's coach Bernd Berkhahn. "We all believed in it. Flo also believed that he had it in him."
The long-distance national coach from Magdeburg also stated: "I am very affected by this, one must say that. Because of course, I also doubt my work and question it." Berkhahn has a reputation as a successful coach on long distances. Among others, Olympic champion Lukas Martens and bronze medalist Isabel Gose train with him.
Form should have been good
Wellbrock had already missed the final over 800 meters, but remained optimistic afterwards. At the World Championships in February, he had already experienced this. He then celebrated a strong comeback and won silver. This time, it didn't work out. The Olympic Games 2024 will end without a medal for Wellbrock in the pool.
However, his coach stated that he was actually in good shape. "The form is still good, everything is fine," Berkhahn had said before the 1500-meter race. Why it still turned out this way remains a mystery. "It doesn't add up. I can't put it together," said Berkhahn.
The second German starter, Sven Schwarz, swam significantly faster than Wellbrock in 14:51.97 minutes, but also did not qualify for the final. After the race, the two briefly slapped each other's hands in the water. When asked if he knew what was wrong with Wellbrock, Schwarz said: "There is great respect. I can't say anything about that now. We didn't talk, there was no time for it. It can happen to anyone."
For Wellbrock, the Olympic Games are not over yet after his last appearance in the pool. The Olympic champion of 2021 in Tokyo wants to swim for the medals in open water in the coming week. First, however, he must recover from a major setback.
Despite his coach's belief in his abilities and the good form before the race, Florian Wellbrock failed to secure a spot in the final for the 1500 meters freestyle at the Olympic Games 2024, marking his absence from pool medals. The Olympic champion from Tokyo in 2021, Wellbrock's underperformance remains a mystery, leaving the pool competition without a medal this time around.
