Some of Germany’s best swimmers jumped into the pools in Essen and Halle last weekend. They used the competitions as preparation for the German National Championships and trials next month. Dorothea Brandt, Hendrik Feldwehr and Isabelle Härle were set to hit their training pool at “Alex Athletic swim and fan days” in Essen. The sprint specialist Brandt was victorious in the 50 breast in 31,82 and 50 free with a 25,38. Feldwehr confirmed his good form with a 28,00 on the 50 breast. Open water and long distance pool swimmer Härle, who was the European 2014 Open Water Champion in the 5 km, showed her long distance quality, swimming a 16:22,63 on the 1500 freestyle – fast for this time of the year and with the rest of the field far behind her.
In the eastern part of Germany the annual swim meet of SV Halle in Halle-Neustadt featured Paul Biedermann and Marco Koch among other national team members. Koch showed a great performance with a world class 2:10,36 – only himself and Cody Miller have been faster this year. Also notable: Paul Biedermann with a 1:47,49 on 200 free, the fourth fastest time this year in the world. The field in Halle also included Franziska Hentke who swam a solid 2:10,36 in the 200 fly.
The German Nationals will be held from April 9th to 12th at “SSE Schwimm- und Sprunghalle im Europapark”, Berlin.
