Watch Sven Schwarz’s European Record-Setting 800 Free (7:38.12) From The German Championships

2025 GERMAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

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 As we previously reported, Sven Schwarz set a new European Record (7:38.12) in the men’s 800 freestyle at the 2025 German Swimming Championships last week, which ranks him as the fifth-fastest man of all time. It also stands as the fifth-fastest performance in history, with no swimmer ahead of him having achieved a faster time more than once.

Top 10 Men’s LCM 800 Free Performers All-Time:

1. Zhang Lin (CHN) – 7:32.12, 2009
2. Ous Mellouli (TUN) – 7:35.27, 2009
3. Ahmed Hafnaoui (TUN) – 7:37.00, 2023
4. Sam Short (AUS) – 7:37.76, 2023
5. Sven Schwarz (GER) – 7:38.12, 2025 *European Record*
6. Daniel Wiffen (IRL) – 7:38.19
7. Sun Yang (CHN) – 7:38.57, 2011
8. Grant Hackett (AUS) – 7:38.65, 2005
9. Bobby Finke (USA) – 7:38.67, 2023
10. Lukas Märtens (GER) — 7:39.10, 2025

Top 10 Men’s LCM 800 Free Performances All-Time:

1. Zhang Lin (CHN) – 7:32.12, 2009
2. Ous Mellouli (TUN) – 7:35.27, 2009
3. Ahmed Hafnaoui (TUN) – 7:37.00, 2023
4. Sam Short (AUS) – 7:37.76, 2023
5. Sven Schwarz (GER) – 7:38.12, 2025 *European Record*
6. Daniel Wiffen (IRL) – 7:38.19
7. Sun Yang (CHN) – 7:38.57, 2011
8. Grant Hackett (AUS) – 7:38.65, 2005
9. Bobby Finke (USA) – 7:38.67, 2023
10. Bobby Finke (USA) — 7:38.75, 2024

The 23-year-old powered to gold, taking almost a second off Lukas Märtens‘ German record of 7:39.10, set at last month’s Swim Open Stockholm. Schwarz defeated Florian Wellbrock, the 2020 Olympic champion in the 10k open water and the 2022 World Championships silver medalist in this 800 distance, who took silver in 7:43.79. Oliver Klemet claimed bronze with a time of 7:44.61.

Schwarz’s time also erased the previous European Record of 7:38.19, set by Irish swimmer Daniel Wiffen, who won the event at the 2024 Paris Olympics with that mark. Schwarz had been part of that final, finishing 5th in 7:43.59, though that wasn’t his previous best time.

Before this event, Schwarz’s career-best was 7:41.77, a time he set when claiming gold at the European U23 Championships in Dublin in 2023. His performance last week knocked over three seconds off that standard.

The race video for Schwarz’s record swim has been publicized, courtesy of Mr. CarterN on YouTube, which you can watch in full below.

Schwarz is the early favorite for gold at the World Championships in July, but he’ll face strong competition from Wiffen, who has posted 7:41.52 this year, and Australia’s Sam Short, the fourth-fastest man of all time, who recorded a silver medal-winning 7:37.76 at the 2023 World Championships. 

Short missed the final in Paris due to a series of injury and illness setbacks leading up to the competition, finishing 9th with a time of 7:46.83.

In addition, whichever German joins him in this event in Singapore will also be a strong contender. Currently, Märtens has the inside track, though he’s shifted focus to the 200 and 400 over the past year and hasn’t raced the 800 internationally since the 2023 Worlds, where he clocked a then-German record of 7:39.48 to place 5th. However, after his negative-split 7:39.10 last month, it’s possible he may reconsider.

American Bobby Finke can’t be overlooked either—he’s the only man ranked more than once in the all-time top 10 performers list, with two swims that sit 9th and 10th. The 2020 Olympic champion and Tokyo silver medalist behind Wiffen owns a personal best of 7:38.67 and is swimming the fastest in-season times of his career this year—especially notable given his reputation as a big-time taper swimmer.