At German nationals in Berlin, day two produced one qualifier for the European Championships in Budapest in August, though several others raced within the necessary standard in the heats of finals to be held at the weekend to favour TV broadcast.
In the 200m medley, Markus Deibler, Hamburger SC, clocked 2:00.79 for victory and a berth in Budapest just inside the 2:01.19 cut-off he needed. No such luck for Jan David Schepers, SG Essen, on 2:01.32, or Tim Wallburger, SG Neukölln, Berlin, on 2:01.45, while in fourth was German record holder (on 1:58.94 from Rome 2009), 400m winner yesterday, Yannick Lebherz, 1912 Darmstadt, on 2:02.64.
A tight 400m medley for women went to 16-year-old Juliane Reinhold, of Jena in Thuringia and racing for Leipzig in next-door Saxony, in 4:43.68. Early leader Nina Schiffer, for Dortmund, was second in 4:43.91, while bronze went to Katharina Schiller, Waiblingen, in 4:48.80. The German record still stands to the Petra Schneider in 4:36.10 from 1982, when the GDR's systematic doping programme was in full swing.
The federation of the Federal Republic of Germany, the DSV, assumed all the tainted records upon reunification in 1990 and while Reinhold hails from a similar part of the world to Schneider, the lives of 1982 and 2010 swimmers are worlds apart. Schneider teaches swimming in Saxony to this day, years after having successfully sued coaches, doctors and agreed an out-of-court settlement with the German Olympic Committee over the harm that heavy dosages of steroids did to her in her teens, harm that she still suffers from today. Ironically, the 4:40.82 selection time needed for young Reinhold is a second per stroke slower than Schneider at her best 28 years ago.
Elsewhere, heats saw Steffen and Markus (200 IM winner) Deibler, Hamburger SC, lead the way in the 100m free, on 49.48 and 49.78 respectively, with Paul Biedermann, Halle, third through in 49.90. The women's sprint free saw Daniela Samulski, SG Essen, first through in 54.56, ahead of Daniela Schreiber, Halle, on 54.56, and teenager, Silke Lippok, 16 this year and racing for SSG Pforzheim, third through in a new age-group mark of 54.74.
