Rafael Miroslaw Breaks German Record in the 100 Free at Berlin Swim Open

Berlin Swim Open

• April 8-10, 2022
• Long Course Meters (50m)
• Full Meet Results

Rafael Miroslaw hit two World Championship qualification times and broke a German Record in the first two days of the Berlin Swim Open.

The meet, which is one of the last opportunities for Germans to qualify for the World Championships in their ‘open’ selection system, includes a portion of the country’s top swimmers, while others are swimming at the Stockholm Swim Open in Sweden.

Miroslaw has been the star through two days of competition in Berlin. First, on Friday, he swam 1:46.76 in the 200 free final to win. Earlier in the day, he swam 1:46.04 in prelims, which beat the requisite time to qualify for Worlds.

His previous best time in the event was a 1:48.69 from 2019.

Then, on Saturday, he followed it with a 47.92 in the prelims of the 100 free, breaking Marco di Carli‘s 48.24 from 2011 as the new German Record.

Splits Comparison

He again added time in finals, though his 48.16 there was still faster than the old German Record.

Only Great Britain’s Lewis Burras has been faster this year in the 100, swimming 47.88 at GB Trials earlier in the week. In 2022, only South Korean Hwang Sunwoo has been better in the 200 with a 1:45.79.

Miroslaw just completed his first season of training in the NCAA at Indiana University. There, he was the Big Ten Champion in the 200 free and finished 4th in the 100 free.

While Indiana had mixed results at the NCAA Championships, Miroslaw was one of their top performers: he swam a best time of 41.63 in prelims of the 100 free and placed 13th in the final, and was 1:32.11 in the 200 free prelims before finishing 10th in finals. That 100 free was a personal best time for him.

Miroslaw, who turns 21 this year, will next have to get over the hurdle of improving from prelims to finals at big meets: in his two finals at the NCAA Championships, plus his two this weekend in Germany, he has been slower in finals than in prelims.

Other Highlight Swims

• Poul Zellmann swam a 1:47.45 in the 200 free. Already qualified in the 400 IM, with Miroslaw, Josha Salchow (1:48.46), and Lukas Martens’ time two weeks ago of 1:47.18, Germany has cleared the internal standard for sending an 800 free relay to Worlds.
• Lucas Matzerath won the 100 breaststroke in 59.89, as the country’s previous standard-bearer in the event Fabian Schwingenshloegl slid to 7th in 1:01.88. Matzerath has been 59.3, but this time was good enough to book him a spot on the Euros team.
• Bente Fischer won the women’s 200 breast in 2:26.51 after a 2:25.77 in prelims. Her prelims swim, combined with the win, was enough to qualify her for the European Championships.
• Ole Braunschweig came within a few hundredths of the German Record in the men’s 50 backstroke, swimming 24.67. The old record of 24.59 was set by Helge Meeuw in 2009.
• Angelina Koehler (58.72) in the 100 fly and Zoe Vogelmann (4:43.66) in the 400 IM confirmed their European Championship qualifications.
• Sven Schwarz swam 7:46.64 in the men’s 800 free. That’s a best time for the 19-year old by 2.3 seconds. He was already under the World Championship standard two weeks ago in Madgeburg, but this improves his status as the second-best in the event in the relevant qualifying period, behind only the Olympic medalist Florian Wellbrock. He still has to be concerned with Martens and Oliver Klemets’ results in Sweden this weekend.
• David Thomasberger, who last year set a German Record in the 200 fly, swam 1:57.13 in the final on Friday to win and secure his ticket to the European Championships.
• Short Course World Record holder Marco Koch was 4th in the 200 breaststroke in 2:12.31 and remains without a qualifying standard for either the World or European Championships; Kathrin Demler and Ramon Klenz are among other top-named Germans who are also still without standards.