Swimming World Championship
Berkhahn after Wellbrock’s bronze: paid a little “due learning”.
Florian Wellbrock presents his bronze medal. Photo: Ian MacNicol/dpa
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National swimming coach Bernd Berkhahn is very satisfied with the medals his top athlete Florian Wellbrock won at the World Championships, but after bronze over ten kilometers in open water he still sees room for improvement.
National swimming coach Bernd Berkhahn is very satisfied with the medals his top athlete Florian Wellbrock won at the World Championships, but after bronze over ten kilometers in open water he still sees room for improvement.
“We had to learn a bit by organizing the race,” said the 51-year-old in Budapest. “We could have been a little smarter. But in the end he did everything great. And the next world championships are coming soon in 2023. We’re thinking about how we can do it better.”
Wellbrock had to let the two Italians Gregorio Paltrinieri (gold) and Domenico Acerenza (silver) go in the final phase of the race in Lupa Lake and prevailed in the fight for bronze in the sprint against Frenchman Marc-Antoine Olivier. The fact that it wasn’t was also due to the strength at the end of the race in very high temperatures of around 28 degrees in the water and 36 degrees in the air.
“He didn’t eat well, you have to say. The Italians did it a little smarter, »said Berkhahn. «Gregorio fed himself twice every round. And that was probably necessary. We probably underestimated that a bit,” he said. “Penultimate lap he actually wanted to eat, but Gregorio blocked him.”
Wellbrock entered the race as the defending champion and Olympic champion. At the World Championships he won five medals in the pool and open water: two gold, one silver and two bronze.