Saturday 15th May 2021
“Can be a good day”
Gold from the board, silver in the lake, bronze from the tower
The German athletes continue to collect medals at the European Swimming Championships in Hungary. The competitions give hope for the Olympic Games in Tokyo – and when the open water swimmers in particular meet the conditions.
Completely exhausted, Florian Wellbrock applauded his competitors and shortly afterwards he and his teammates were honored with the silver medal on the lake beach. The German open water swimmers took second place with the relay at the European Championships in Hungary. Lea Boy, Leonie Beck, Rob Muffels and double world champion Wellbrock only had to admit defeat to the sovereign quartet from Italy after 4 x 1.25 kilometers. Under the roof of the Duna Arena, water diver Tina Punzel won gold from the three-meter board in the evening, Timo Barthel and Patrick Hausding took bronze in synchronized jumping from the tower.
“After the first jump this morning, I had the feeling that it could be a really good day today,” said Punzel happily after completing her set of medals with the European title. The 25-year-old had previously won bronze in the team with Hausding, Christina Wassen and Lou Massenberg and silver with Massenberg in mixed synchronized jumping from a height of three meters. Overall, Punzel secured the ninth precious metal in Hungary for the German Swimming Association.
“Losing to Italy is no shame”
In the open water Wellbrock proved his finishing qualities in an extremely exciting final sprint for places two to four and referred the hosts to bronze. “In the end we can be very happy with the medal. Losing to Italy is not a shame,” said the 23-year-old. For the Italian Gregorio Paltrinieri it was already the third gold in his third race at this European Championship.
For Olympic hopefuls Wellbrock it was the third and last race of these European championships. Tomorrow, Sunday, he skipped the final open water competition over 25 kilometers, and the Magdeburg native will not compete in the pool either. For the native of Bremen, the competitions in Lake Lupa were important Olympic tests after a long time without international competition. The races with strong European competition have shown him that he is still one of the top swimmers in open water.
Four medals for Hausding
How meaningful the results are with a view to the Summer Games, however, is questionable – as the German team itself has repeatedly emphasized. The conditions in Japan will be very different from those in Hungary with completely different water temperatures.
Hard work at Hausding and Barthel.
(Photo: dpa)
The EM went really well again for medal guarantee Hausding. The record European diving champion won his fourth medal on his last appearance in Budapest. “We jumped a great competition,” said the 32-year-old after finishing third behind winners Great Britain and Russia. “We were aware that the Russians and British were jumping in a different league,” he added, speaking of a “top European championship”. In Budapest he had previously won gold twice and bronze once. For the 25-year-old Barthel it was the first European Championship medal.
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