2025 GERMAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Thursday, May 1st – Sunday, May 4th
- Berlin, Germany
- LCM (50m)
- SwimSwam Preview
- Entries/Results
Day two of the 2025 German Swimming Championships unfolded tonight in Berlin with World Championships bids on the line.
As a refresher, this competition marks an additional qualification opportunity for athletes to add their names to the nation’s roster for Singapore, although German athletes were able to qualify at any World Aquatics-approved competition from April 7th through May 4th.
23-year-old Lukas Märtens has already made the grade in multiple events, highlighted by the men’s 400m freestyle, the race in which he ripped a new World Record earlier this month.
At the Swim Open Stockholm on April 13th, Märtens overtook the longstanding 400m free WR benchmark of 3:40.07 retired countryman Paul Biedermann put on the books during the supersuited 2009 World Championships.
Märtens’ effort rendered him the first-ever man under the 3:40 barrier, surpassing his previous lifetime best of 3:40.33 notched at the 2024 German Nationals.
While Märtens bypassed the 400m free event at last week’s Berlin Swim Open, he was back at it tonight and put up another head-turning performance of 3:40.61 to grab the gold.
The reigning Olympic champion led 23-year-old Oliver Klemet who clocked 3:43.43 for silver, followed by Olympic champion and open water ace Florian Wellbrock.
Wellbrock touched in 3:46.44 while 18-year-old Johannes Liebmann followed up his 1500m free German Age Record from last weekend with a solid 3:48.79 as the 4th place finisher.
Splits for top 4 finishers:
Klemet was just off his season-best of 3:43.30 to retain his position as the 2nd German Worlds qualifier.
As for Märtens, his 3:40.61 effort this evening represents the 10th-best performance in history and he now owns 3 of the swiftest swims ever produced. It also beat his Olympic gold medal-winning result of 3:41.78 from Paris.
Top 10 Men’s LCM 400 Free Performances All-Time
- 3:39.96 – Lukas Märtens (GER), 2025
- 3:40.07 – Paul Biedermann (GER), 2009
- 3:40.08 – Ian Thorpe (AUS), 2002
- 3:40.14 – Sun Yang (CHN), 2012
- 3:40.17 – Ian Thorpe, 2001
- 3:40.29 – Sun Yang, 2011
- 3:40.33 – Lukas Märtens, 2024
- 3:40.54 – Ian Thorpe, 2002
- 3:40.59 – Ian Thorpe, 2000
- 3:40.61 – Lukas Märtens, 2025
Oliver Klemet is severely underrated. 3:42, 7:44, 14:43 in the pool and Paris silver medalist on 10km. And btw he’s 5’8. #5’8ahhforthewin
He may be the smallest on the podium but he’s the biggest in our hearts ❤️ #5’8ahhforthewin
Couldn’t have said it better, friend.
How many alts do you have.
Sam Short is also similar height
3:40, 7:37, 14:37
Not similar, it’s considerably better (not discrediting Klemet)
No one is mentioning Klemet’s .55 reaction. Dude should become a sprinter
theres a glut of elite german distance swimmers who keep missing international teams — they should move down some events and target the 200 like martens. could be a very dangerous 4 x 200 with martens as the pointy end if they could find 2 more legs. their lack of depth also forces them into wasting martens on their prelims lineup
Since he is 5’8 ahh he’s able to spring off the blocks faster than Lukas “GOAT of 400” Martens
Lukas is probably going to hit 3:38 in Singapore. I think 2 more swimmers might go below 3:40.
holy moly
Well this is consistency I am satisfied with seeing from Lukas