To swim
Angelina Köhler wins World Championship gold in the 100 meter butterfly
Won World Championship gold in the 100 meter butterfly: Angelina Köhler. photo
© Hassan Ammar/AP/dpa
For the first time since Britta Steffen in 2009, a German pool swimmer has won World Cup gold. A pop star plays a big role in the preparation for Angelina Köhler’s race.
Angelina Köhler is the world swimming champion in the 100 meter butterfly. The 23-year-old relegated Claire Curzan from the USA to second place. Sweden’s Louie Hansson took bronze. Köhler scored in Qatar after 56.28 seconds.
For the first time since 2009, when After Britta Steffen won twice in Rome, another German pool swimmer won World Championship gold. With her fantastic race, Köhler secured her third medal for the German Swimming Association on the second day of the competition in the Aspire Dome. On Sunday there was bronze for Isabel Gose and Lukas Märtens.
For Köhler, the title is by far the greatest success of his career to date. The day before her big triumph, the Berliner had already hinted at her exceptional form. In both the preliminary and semi-finals she improved the German record and was faster than all her competitors. “I love this pool here, I’m perfectly prepared,” she said afterwards. “I’m no longer the weakest, I can keep up and swim away from the others in the second lane.”
Special ritual before the races
She has a special ritual before the races. “I always listen to Taylor Swift. She means a lot to me,” she said of the pop star, who celebrated with her boyfriend, football player Travis Kelce, his Super Bowl win with the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night. “I always listen to the music and dance to it before my races because it gives me incredible strength.”
At the last World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Köhler took fifth place. The four swimmers who were ahead of her at the time were not there this time. The highlight of the season is the Olympics. In order to better prepare, some stars – not just on Köhler’s route – are foregoing participation in the World Cup, which is taking place for the first time in the same year as the Summer Games. It is therefore difficult to estimate what Köhler’s success means with regard to the Rings spectacle in Paris. One thing is certain: the butterfly expert now has her ticket to the Olympics.
Matzerath misses Olympic ticket
Breaststroke swimmer Lucas Matzerath took seventh place in the 100 meters. He missed the chance to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris this summer. For that he should have been in the top four.
The 23-year-old clocked 59.37 seconds in Doha, well ahead of his German record of 58.74 seconds. Nic Fink from the USA became world champion ahead of Nicolo Martinenghi from Italy. World record holder Adam Peaty from Great Britain secured bronze.