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Biedermann In Budapest 400m By 0.4sec

Jul 3, 2010  - Craig Lord

At nationals and trials in Berlin, Paul Biedermann confirmed his status as German champion with a skin-of-his-teeth 3:49.02 win in the 400m freestyle in a race in which he shadowed leader Clemens Rapp until the closing metres. Rapp took silver in 3:49.72.

If victory was achieved by a small margin then the world champion and record holder (3:40.07 at the height of shiny suit summer 2009) made it to the European title battle by the skin of his teeth: his target 3:49.42. Biedermann in, Rapp out, the winner looking for a wholly different result to the one he achieved two years ago in Eindhoven: Biedermann, coached by Frank Embacher in Halle, finished 13th in the European showcase in 3:51.22. 

In Berlin today, the battle for bronze today went to Robin Backhaus in 3:53.50, 0.1sec ahead of Christian Kubusch, with Tim Wallburger a further 0.14sec adrift. Biedermann's latest effort was the 10th best of his career, and compares better with the 3:47.69 best time he had before donning a shiny suit.

There is clearly more to come from Biedermann, who would hardly have needed to do a full taper to win the German crown. But if the surface story in Berlin today was somewhat obvious even before it unfolded, the detail in the depth was intriguing. Check out the very different way in which these three swim stack up, the back-end of 2009 reflecting race conditions that were banned on January 1 this year with the passing of shiny suits:

Biedermann's 2008-2009-2010 splits compared:

  • 2010 (textile jammers)
  • 26.18; 28.67 (54.85); 29.03 (1:23.88); 29.55 (1:53.33); 29.04 (2:22.37); 29.68 (2:52.05); 29.43 (3:21.48); 27.54 (3:49.02).
  • 2009 (100% poly suit)
  • 26.29; 28.13 (54.42); 28.01 (1:22.43); 28.59 (1:51.02); 27.76 (2:18.78); 28.39 (2:47.17); 27.13 (3:14.30); 25.77 (3:40.07).
  • 2008 (textile body), Eindhoven 2008:
  • 27.29; 29.12 (56.41); 29.10 (1:25.51); 29.20 (1:54.71); 28.89 (2:23.60); 29.47 (2:53.07); 29.79 (3:22.86); 28.36 (3:51.22).
  • 2008 (textile body), Beijing 2008:
  • 25.98; 27.82 (53.80); 29.16 (1:22.96); 28.76 (1:51.72); 29.59 (2:21.31); 29.63 (2:50.94); 29.38(3:20.32); 27.71 (3:48.03).

The last 100m, and even more so 50m, in 2009 remains surreal.

Just in time to rush off and watch Germany take on Argentina in the World Cup, Biedermann was back in later to win the 100m free in 48.80, off 23.77, 0.17sec ahead of Steffen Deibler, Hamburger SC, and brother Markus Deibler, on 49.22. All three raced inside the cut for Budapest. The German relay will also be able to call on Christoph Fildebrandt, on 49.81, with Stefan Herbst the first man over 50sec, on 50.41. Biedermann's effort stacks up well to his 48.39 of 2009, that best of a year ago swum in an Arena R-Evolution and not an X-Glide.

No qualifiers in the women's 400m free, a sub-4:10 having been needed. The crown went to Jaana Ehmcke, Potsdamer SV, in 4:12.56, ahead of Isabelle Härle, 4:13.25, and Elisa Thimm, 16 this year, 4:13.53. The future is arriving. The past lingers: the German record is still held by the GDR's Anke Moehring, in 4:05.84, from 1989 just before the fuel of State Plan 14:25 crumbled with the fall of the Berlin Wall. 

A tight 100m breaststroke final went to the man who found his speed off the blocks: Hendrik Feldwehr, SG Essen, went out in 27.96 and was home in 1:01.03 (his 2009 best was 59.15), while silver went to Marco Koch in 1:01.47 and bronze to Johannes Neumann, in 1:01.95. Feldwehr and Koch made the grade for Budapest, Neumann just missed the mark for a continental showcase that allows four per nation in heats.

In keeping with the suits slowdown, Sarah Poewe was always going to struggle to get to her 1:07.01 100m breast best on the clock but in 1:08.82 she was national champ once more and will race for Germany in Budapest. Silver went to Lina Rathsack, 16 this year, in 1:10.18, bronze to Caroline Ruhnau, in 1:10.22, 0.04sec ahead of Kerstin Vogel.

The German 200m 'fly record for men still stands to a legend: Michael 'the Albatross' Gross, clocked 1:56.24 in 1986. He would have made the Budapest cut 24 years on but 2sec shy of that Toni Embacher, SV Halle, became national champion in 1:59.48. The silver went to Simon Becker in 2:02.11, bronze to Paul-Phillipp Drobny in 2:02.25, 0.23sec ahead of Timo Spring.

It was better news, in terms of Budapest, in the women's 200m 'fly, Franziska Hentke, SC Magdeburg, taking the title in 2:09.17 for a berth at the August showdown. Silver in Berlin, but no ticket to Hungary, went to Nina Schiffer, in 2:11.73, bronze to Katharina Schiller, on 2:12.25, 0.34sec ahead of Annika Mehlhorn, national record holder in 2009, on 2:06.45.

The women's long backstroke saw German record holder (2:08.80 from december last year), Jenny Mensing, SC Wiesbaden 1911, pull her tongue out at suit support, with a 2:09.52 victory that puts her on the plane to Margaret Island in August. The silver went to Lisa Graf, in 2:12.42, bronze to Franzisca Scheiner, on 2:14.38.

The women's 100m free brought the session to a close just as Thomas Mueller struck first blood for Germany against Argentina down in South Africa. As she finished the 100m in 54.55, Daniela Samulski, SG Essen, might have heard the roar go up across Germany as the nation came to a standstill, beer and BBQs at the ready. Silver went to Daniela Schreiber, on 54.73, the top two in the race making the Budapest cut. Shared bronze to 200m champion and rising star of the German team Silke Lippok and Lisa Vitting, on 55.27. 

The German 4x100m free relay can also call on Dorothea Brandt, training partner of absent Britta Steffen at Neukölln Berlin, on 55.64. The Olympic and world champion and record holder is not yet ruled in or out of action in Budapest after a troubled season of illness and injury.