Märtens Inside Dean’s Tokyo Gold Pace On 1:44.14 As Third-Fastest 200m Man Since Shiny Suits Era After Popovici & Agnel
Lukas Märtens added to his list of Paris podium targets with a 1:44.14 lifetime best in the 200m freestyle on day 3 at German Championships in Berlin this afternoon.
Märtens, who rattled the 400m world record on day 1 of the championships, raced inside the gold-silver pace of Brits Tom Dean and Duncan Scott at Tokyo 2020ne Olympics and every major title won since barring one, the 1:42.97 World-title blast of Romanian David Popovici at Budapest 2022.
The German ace coached by Bernd Berkhahn at SC Magdeburg is the closest anyone beyond Popovici (who also clocked 1:43.21 in 2022) and French London 2012 Olympic champion Yannick Agnel (1:43.14) has got to breaking the 1:44 mark since the end of the shiny suits era.
Märtens’ previous best of 1:44.79 was set at the Fukuoka 2023 World Championships, where Britain’s Matt Richards picked up the crown at the helm of another Brit 1-2, with Dean, the pair split 1:44.30 to 1:44.32.
At British trials, Richards and Scott picked up the Paris tickets for the solo, Dean third and locked out of the defence of one of his Olympic crowns from Tokyo, the 4x200m free very much in focus for all three aforementioned, James Guy ensuring the Tokyo quartet will arrive in Paris each one a front-line defender.
Märtens did not face the same pressure-cooker trials moment as the Brits, his effort today more time-trial in nature, the battle for the minor spoils far behind him, Danny Schmidt, SG Frankfurt, on 1:48.61 for silver, then Philipp Peschke, SG Essen, 1:49.00, Jarno Bäschnitt, SG Ruhr, 1:49.25, and 100m champion Josha Salchow, SV Nikar Heidelberg and based in Adelaide, 1:49.27.
In a session that saw the star off day 2, Melvin Imoudu, take down his own German 50m breaststroke record in 26.62, Märtens was out in 24.27, at the half-way mark in 50.71, the last turn in 1:17.57, his home comer a 26.57.
Asked how he felt in the context of being faster than Dean’s gold-winning British record from Tokyo, Märtens said:
“That was a super race. I think it went as I’d planned it with my coach. I feel really good and I hope this is great advertising for the German 200m free – it’s about time.”
Lukas Märtens tells ZDF viewers he hopes his effort will be a great advertisement to inspire others to step up and restore pride in the 200m ranks in Germany – image courtesy of ZDF
The German record was, of course, far ahead of him: its the world record, of 1:42.00, the time Paul Biedermann clocked for the Rome 2009 World title in the short-lived shiny suits era. Märtens new career high comparing to these fast flows:
• 1:44.14 – 24.27; 50.71 (26.44) 1:17.57 (26.86) 1:44.14 (26.57) Lukas Märtens GER
Fukuoka 2023 gold:
- 1:44.30 – 24.23; 50.83 (26.60) 1:17.77 (26.94) 1:44.30 (26.53) Matt Richards GBR
Textile
- 1:42.97 – 24.10; 50.36 (26.26) 1:16.96 (26.60) 1:42.97 (26.01) David Popovici ROU 2022
- 1:43.14 – 24.55, 50.64 (26.09) 1:17.16 (26.52) 1:43.14 (25.98) Yannick Agnel FRA 2012
- 1:43.21 – 23.77; 49.96 (26.19) 1:16.27 (26.31) 1:43.21 (26.94) David Popovici ROU 2022
- 1:44.06 – 24.81, 51.45 (26.64) 1:18.26 (26.81) 1:44.06 (25.80) Ian Thorpe AUS 2001
- 1:43.86 – 24.47, 51.00 (26.53) 1:17.73 (26.73) 1:43.86 (26.13) Michael Phelps USA 2007
Non-textile
- 1:42.00 – 24.23, 50.12 (25.79) 1:16.30 (26.18) 1:42.00 (25.70) Paul Biedermann GER 2009
- 1:42.96 – 24.31, 50.29 (25.98) 1:16.84 (26.55) 1:42.96 (26.12) Michael Phelps USA 2008
Märtens Magdeburg Mate Isabel Gose At Franzi’s Top Pace
Coach Berkhahn, meanwhile, also celebrated a 1:56.66 all-time German Number 3 effort from Isabel Gose, training partner of Märtens, in the women’s 200m freestyle. The time is just 0.02sec shy of the swiftest of Franziska Van Almsick‘s two World records that kept the global standard isn her grip between 1994 and 2007.
The German record has stood to Annika Lurz at 1:55.68 from the same year Van Almsick’s standard was confined to history at global level.
Out in 27.92, Gose was ate half-way in 57.31 and the last turn on 1:27.18 before coming home in 29.48 ahead of Nele Schulze, SG Neukölln e.V. Berlin, 1:59.34, and Maya Werner, SV Nikar Heidelberg, 1:59.54.
Imoudu Record And The Rest Of The Action
Melvin Imoudu, Potsdamer SV, shaved 0.1 off the German 50m breaststroke record he set in Eindhoven two weeks ago, his 26.62 keeping at bay a strong challenge from Noel de Geus,
Eintracht Hildesheim, second in 26.83, the bronze to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Lisovets, based at SVE Hamburg, on 27.18.
David Thomasberger, from Biedermann’s old club SSG Leipzig, swept to victory in the 200m butterfly through splits of 25.65, 54.95 and 1:25.20 before stopping the clock at 1:56.96 ahead of Ramon Klenz, SG Neukölln e.V. Berlin, 1:58.23, and Marc Sauer, VfL Sindelfingen, 2:00.90.
The women’s title went to TB 1888 Erlangen’s Alina Baievych, born in the year of the Rome 2009 shiny suits circus and now, at 14, a national 200m butterfly champion in 2:11.04, a German age record.
For victory, she topped World 100m butterfly champion Angelina Köhler, on 2:12.62.
In other action, Cedric Büssing, SG Essen, took the 200m medley in 1:59.94. Kim Emely Herkle, SV Cannstatt, took the equivalent women’s crown in 2:14.44.