One of Germany’s top swimmers has announced that he will not be competing at the German Short Course National Championships in Wuppertal from November 21st-24th. On Friday Markus Deibler announced on his Facebook page that he would not be attending the German National Championships.
In short Deibler explained that he is happy with his training and preparation, but in consultation with National Team Head Coach Henning Labertz he will be switching the focus of his training to the long course European Championships that will held in Berlin this summer.
The decision to not participate in the national championships also means that he will not compete in Herning at the European Short Course Championships in December.
That means the German team will be without both Deibler and world record holder Paul Biedermann. Since fighting an illness last year Biedermann has been working himself back into shape, most recently returning to competition at the Saxon Open where he solidified his qualification for the German National Championships.
Despite a vote of confidence in his readiness to compete internationally by Lambertz Biedermann made the decision to change his focus to the Long Course European Championships that will be held in Berlin this summer, “With the launch of the DM in Wuppertal, I finish my first training section after the break. I’m curious what kind of performance is possible on my part . However, I consider myself not yet internationally competitive and therefore strive not start at the European Short Course in Denmark,” Biedermann said in a press release.
Biedermann will still be competing at the German Short Course National Championships.
It was also announced that 2012 German Olympian Yannick Lebherz will not be competing in the 400 IM and 200 backstroke, his prime events, in Wuppertal. He will be swimming the 100 and 200 freestyle, this decision was made after his training in preparation for the event was interrupted by illness.
It is obvious that for many of the German swimmers the priority of the 2013-14 season is the long course European Championships in Berlin. Deibler, Biedermann and Lebherz at one point in their announcements all made reference to the priority being the long course European Championships that are being held on home soil.
Deibler.