On day 1 of the 2014 German Short Course National Championship, 9 events saw 9 different winners, with the well-known names largely taking the day on few surprise outcomes.
The top story of the day came out of the men’s and women’s breaststrokes, where Theresa Michalak (1:06.27) and European Champion Marco Koch (58.11) won their respective gold medals.
Michalak has been living and training in the United States, and while she is expected to compete this season for the Gators, she hasn’t yet swum a race for them. None-the-less, even after winning the German title on Thursday, she’s held firm to her conviction to skip the Short Course World Championships to focus on her studies in the United States, which was lamented by the German press release after the first day of competition.
In the men’s 200 freestyle to start the day, Paul Biedermann fought off Markus Deibler for the win by a margin of 1:43.24 to 1:43.70. For Deibler, more-often thought of as a sprinter than a middle-distance swimmer, that is a new lifetime best in that event – improving a time he did over four years ago in 2010.
His older brother Steffen Deibler won a title in the men’s 50 fly with a 22.89 – but stated his displeasure with the time and intent to go faster at the World Championships in Doha. He’s the World Record holder in the event and was faster at all 6 stops of the World Cup this season in which he participated.
The women’s50 fly went to Alexandra Wenk in 26.55.
The list of all medal winners can be found below:
200m Freestyle Men:
Gold: Paul Biedermann, SV Halle / Saale, 1: 43.24 minutes
Silver: Markus Deibler, Hamburger SC, 1: 43.70 minutes
Bronze: Clemens Rapp, SV Nikar Heidelberg, 1: 44.34 minutes
100m Freestyle Women:
Gold: Anna Dietterle, SG Neukölln Berlin, 54.02 seconds
Silver: Alexandra Wenk, SG Stadtwerke München, 54.35 seconds
Bronze: Annika Bruhn, SSG Saar Max Ritter, 54.43 seconds
50m Backstroke Men:
Gold: Christian Diener, Potsdamer SV, 23.58 seconds
Silver: Marco di Carli, SG Frankfurt, 24.06 seconds
Bronze: Carl Louis Black, DSV, 24.36 seconds
100m Breaststroke Women:
Gold: Theresa Michalak, SG Bayer, 1: 06.27 minutes
Silver: Vanessa Grimberg, SVR Stuttgart, 1: 06.50 minutes
Bronze: Marlene Huether, SSG Saar Max Ritter, 1: 07.10 minutes
Men’s 100m Breaststroke:
Gold: Marco Koch, DSW 1912 Darmstadt, 58.11 seconds
Silver: Markus Deibler, Hamburger SC, 58.52 seconds
Bronze: Hendrik Feldwehr, SG Essen, 58.80 seconds
50m Butterfly Women:
Gold: Alexandra Wenk, SG Stadtwerke München, 26.55 seconds
Silver: Doris Eichhorn, Aqua Berlin, 26.62 seconds
Bronze: Paulina Schmiedel, AMTV-FTV Hamburg, 26.95 seconds
200m backstroke Women:
Gold: Jenny Mensing, SC 1911 Wiesbaden, 2: 04.67 minutes
Silver: Dorte Baumert, SG Regio Freiburg, 2: 05.59 minutes
Bronze: Sonnele Öztürk, water Spandau 04, 2: 06.34 minutes
50m Butterfly Men:
Gold: Steffen Deibler, Hamburger SC, 22.89 seconds
Silver: Jonas Bergmann, SG Osnabrück, 23.26 seconds
Bronze: Maximilian Oswald, SG Neukölln Berlin, 23.39 seconds
400m Freestyle Women:
Gold: Sarah Koehler, SG Frankfurt, 4: 02.97 minutes
Silver: Leonie Antonia Beck, SV Würzburg 05, 4: 03.63 minutes
Bronze: Marlene Huether, SSG Saar Max Ritter, 4: 07.58 minutes
4x50m Freestyle Men:
Gold: Potsdamer SV, 1: 27.52 minutes
Silver: SG Essen, 1: 30.20 minutes
Bronze: Berliner TSC, 1: 30.56 minutes
4x50m freestyle Women:
Gold: SG Essen, 1: 40.86 minutes
Silver: SG Dortmund, 1: 41.60 minutes
Bronze: SG Neukölln Berlin, 1: 41.88 minutes
