Sven Schwarz Delivers 1500 Free Victory To Close Out 2026 German Championships

2026 GERMAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, April 23rd – Sunday, April 26th
• Berlin, Germany
• LCM (50m)
• Day 1 Recap | Day 2 Recap | Day 3 Recap
• Live Results
• Livestream

The 2026 German Championships concluded tonight in Berlin with multiple Olympians back in the pool to secure additional titles and European Championships berths.

23-year-old Olympic medalist Isabel Gose solidified her status as the most successful athlete at the meet, reaping gold in the 800m freestyle to conclude her campaign.

The freestyle ace stopped the clock at a solid performance of 8:24.18 to get to the wall over 14 seconds ahead of her competitors.

Linda Roth hit 8:38.23 for silver, as Fabienne Wenske rounded out the podium in 8:45.17.

This 8free marked Gose’s 4th gold of these championships, with her time checking in as a new season-best. She surpassed the 8:24.69 produced at the Swim Open Stockholm earlier this month, and she remains the 10th-best performer on the planet at the moment.

For the first time in 10 years, someone other than Olympic champion Florian Wellbrock won the men’s 1500m freestyle gold medal at the German Championships.

Tonight, it was 24-year-old former European Record holder Sven Schwarz who came out on top, winning gold with a time of 14:42.32.

That crushed the field in the sole time under the 15:13 threshold.

Behind him was Paulo Strehlke Delgado, who turned in 15:13.95 for silver, followed by Simon Reinke, who bagged the bronze in 15:17.40.

With domestic nemesis Johannes Liebmann withdrawing from the race due to illness, it was Schwarz’s contest to lose, with the maestro taking full advantage by delivering the 4th-fastest time of his young career.

His personal best remains at the 14:35.69 notched en route to claiming silver at the 2025 World Championships; however, his time tonight underscores the man’s consistency in this event. It was within striking distance of the season-best 14:40.93 notched just last week at the Berlin Swim Open to rank 2nd in the world behind Liebmann (14:39.67).

25-year-old world champion Angelina Köhler proved too quick to catch in the women’s 50m butterfly, delivering a time of 25.61 as the sole performer of the final under the 26-second barrier.

This represents the 3rd 2026 German Championships gold medal for Köhler, with the event representing her remarkable 15th overall national title.

Luca Armbruster was the victor in the men’s edition of the 50m fly, posting a rapid 23.13 to easily qualify for the European Championships in the event.

Armbruster’s lifetime best remains at the 22.84 national record he set last year in Singapore; however, his time this evening was enough to clear the field by over .40.

Behind him was Maurice Grabowski, who clocked 23.56, along with Victor Sanin, who touched in an identical time to share runner-up honors.

Finally, the women’s 200m breaststroke saw world champion Anna Elendt exude her dominance, with the Texas Longhorn turning in a time of 2:24.77.

That was well over a second faster than the qualifying time needed for Paris, capturing the 3rd title of these championships.

World Junior Championships silver medalist Lena Ludwig secured silver in 2:27.27 to earn the U23 qualifying time and Leni Wendrich bagged the bronze in 2:30.73.

Elendt’s lifetime best remains at the 2:23.54 national record she established at last year’s edition of these championships. She now ranks 21st in the world in the event.

Additional Notes

• The women’s 200m backstroke saw Mira Helget capture her first-ever gold medal at the German Championships. The 17-year-old beat the pack in a solid showing of 2:12.86, good enough to secure her slot for the European Junior Championships.
• Lucas Matzerath successfully defended his title in the men’s 200m breaststroke, adding this event to the 100m distance for which he already qualified for the European Championships. Matzerath stopped the clock at 2:10.64, splitting 29.63/33.03 (1:02.66)/33.70/34.28 in the process. That held off Mathis Schonung, who settled for silver just over a second behind in 2:11.77. Kenneth Bock earned bronze in 2:12.03. Schonung’s time dipped under the QT for under-23-year-olds for the European Championships.
• Doubling up on his 100m backstroke victory, Ohio State University’s Cornelius Jahn added the 200m backstroke title to his resume. Jahn produced a winning result of 1:56.63 to include the event in his European Championships lineup, holding a healthy advantage over the rest of the field. Cedric Buessing won next to the wall in 1:58.86, also adding the event to his list of Euros qualifications. Timo Sorgius rounded out the podium in 1:59.90.