World class time over 200 meters
Hartmann draws a clear lesson from record sprint
7/10/2023 6:06 p.m
At the German Athletics Championships, Joshua Hartmann improved the 18-year-old German record by 18 hundredths over 200 meters – and missed the chance for a historic premiere. The ambitious sprinter would like to learn from this. Maybe at the World Cup in August.
Afterwards, Joshua Hartmann also found out that one is usually smarter. “If I had known that, I would not have put my arm out,” said the sprinter, laughing after his German record over the 200 meters. But the man from Cologne was able to cope with the fact that he would have stayed under the 20-second mark without his premature celebration. Finally, with his 20.02 seconds, Hartmann smashed the 18-year-old record of Tobias Unger (20.20) by almost two tenths and thus unexpectedly provided the highlight at the German Championships in Kassel on Sunday evening.
“I’m glad I was able to show everyone what I’m capable of. 20.02 – that’s impressive,” said Hartmann. Ten meters before the finish he had stretched his left arm in the air in Usain Bolt style, after all it was his first German title ever: “If you become German champion, you can be happy.”
Hartmann, the lightning-fast sprinter from ASV Köln, had often spoken of Unger’s record – and that one day he would break it. It was impressive on Sunday, although the 24-year-old visibly relieved the tension ten meters from the finish.
The standard for the 2024 Olympics has already been met
The native of Siegen has previously indicated several times that such a time is in his legs: in 2022 Hartmann was the first German since 1986 to storm into a European Championship final over 200 meters and finished a good fifth. Last week in Stockholm he was the first DLV athlete ever to make it onto a Diamond League podium over the 100 meters.
The increase in his best time by 0.31 seconds came as a surprise. Compared to the world’s best 200-meter sprinters around leader Noah Lyles (19.67), he moved up to 18th place. In Eugene’s World Cup final, the 20.02 seconds would have been enough for fifth place.
Hartmann has secured his ticket for the World Championships in Budapest (19th to 27th August) thanks to his strong performance, and he also ticked off the norm for the Summer Olympics in Paris. He can therefore take a relaxed approach to the next project, having the “19” in front of the comma. Hartmann is confident: “Let’s see what the future brings and how much more mature I’ll be while celebrating.”