Ole Braunschweig Scares Best Time In 100 Backstroke On 2nd Day of Berlin Open

2024 BERLIN SWIM OPEN

• Friday, April 19th – Sunday, April 21st
• Berlin, Germany
• LCM (50m)
• Olympic Qualifying Event
• Live Results
• Livestream
• Day 1 Recap

The second day of the 2024 Berlin Open is a wrap and the finals session was a fairly quiet one. It’s important to note that most German swimmers are focused on next week’s National Championships instead of this meet. There’s also a meet happening in Magdeburg this weekend, the 33rd International Gothaer & Friends competition, which some swimmers have chosen in place of the Berlin Open.

One of today’s highlights was the men’s 100 backstroke, where Ole Braunschweig touched the wall in 53.93 for his 2nd backstroke win of the competition. The 26-year-old owns a best time of 53.47 from this same meet in 2023 and he scared that mark in today’s preliminaries. He qualified 1st for the final in 53.48, just 0.01 outside his previous standard from last April.

Splits Comparison:

During Friday’s 50m sprint, Braunschweig notched a time of 24.70 to win the final after matching his national record (24.57) during prelims. His original 50m record was also from this meet last year.

Marek Ulrich was also under the 54 second barrier today, as he clocked 53.88 to rank 2nd going into the final. Like Braunschweig, he added from prelims but held his 2nd slot (54.20).

World Aquatics’ Olympic qualifying time rests at 53.74, so Braunschweig is under that mark while Ulrich missed it by 0.14. Braunschweig will likely find himself on the German Olympic team, but we’ll have to wait and see what unfolds at the German National Championships later this month before it’s official.

Serbia’s Anja Crevar claimed her 2nd win of the meet in the 200 fly (2:13.41). She opened in a controlled 30.33 through the first 50 before holding 33.42, 34.69, and 34.97 on the remaining three lengths. The 23-year-old’s Serbian record is 2:10.02 from last July’s European U-23 Championships.

Her other win came in yesterday’s 400 IM, where she threw down an effort of 4:46.96 to clear the field. Her career best in that distance stands at 4:38.72 from the 2019 Spanish Championships. She recently recorded a 4th place finish at February’s World Championship meet with a new best time of 4:38.93.

After busting out a new German record in the 100 free (47.85) on Friday, Australia-trained swimmer Josha Salchow stopped the clock in 22.23 for gold in the 50 free. Artem Selin, who trains in the United States under coach Lea Maurer at USC, touched just 0.01 back in 22.24. It was another best time for Salchow who tore apart his previous mark of 22.52 from November’s Japan Open. Selin, however, has been as quick as 21.83 in the one lap dash.

Another highlight of the session was the 400m free races, where Leonie Kullmann (4:10.19) and Henning Mühlleitner (3:51.44) grabbed victories. Kullman was particularly strong on the back half, as she split 2:04.74 through the opening 200 before closing in 2:05.45. Mühlleitner, who was 4th at the 2021 Olympics, was a bit off his best time of 3:43.67 from the Tokyo heats.