Florian Wellbrock (born 19 August 1997) is a German competitive swimmer. He is the world record holder in the short course 1500 metre freestyle. He is an Olympic champion, multiple World Champion and European champion, in both long and short courses. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, he won gold in the 10 kilometre open water and bronze in the 1500 metre freestyle. In total, Wellbrock has won 28 medals at international competitions of which 20 are gold. This includes his gold medal at the Olympic games, six at the World Championships, six at the Swimming World Cup and six at the Open Water Swimming World Cup.
Career
At the age of 17, Wellbrock competed in his first international competition as part of the German mixed 4×100 metre relay team at the 17th Luxembourg Euro Meet.
In 2016, Wellbrock attended the 18th Luxembourg Euro Meet, where he placed seventh in the 1500 metre freestyle with a time of 15:27.19.
2016 Rio Olympics
In May 2016, Wellbrock returned to the German Swimming Championships (long course), where he set a new personal best of 14:55.49. This time broke the under-20 age group record, put him in the top ten 1500 metre freestyle swimmers in that year, and qualified him for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The time was just over 5 seconds off the German national record set by Jorg Hoffman in 1991, which was a world record at the time.
At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Wellbrock swam in the heats of the 1500 metres freestyle, where he finished with a time of 15:23.88 which was just under 30 seconds slower than his personal best set around 3 months earlier. This time did not qualify him for the final.
2016–2020
19 days after his Olympic debut, Wellbrock returned to competition at day two of the 2016 FINA World Cup in Berlin, where he again finished first in the 1500 metre freestyle with a time of 14:35.79.
At the 2019 World Aquatics Championships, he became the first swimmer to win both the 1500m freestyle and the 10 km open-water race at an international competition. Wellbrock won the 10 kilometre open water swim in 1:47:55.90 with the silver and bronze medalists finishing within two seconds of his time.
2020 Summer Olympics
See also: Swimming at the 2020 Summer OlympicsWellbrock qualified to represent Germany at the 2020 Summer Olympics, held in Tokyo, Japan and postponed to summer of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His first medal of the Olympic Games was in the 1500 metre freestyle, where he won the bronze medal. Wellbrock also won a gold medal in the 10 kilometre open water swim a few days later with a time of 1:48:33.7, which was over 25 seconds faster than the second-place finisher. His gold medal was the first won in the event at an Olympic Games by a swimmer representing Germany. His Olympic medals in pool swimming and open water swimming marked the second time a swimmer won medals in both disciplines at one Olympic Games and he was closely followed by the third swimmer to do so, Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy who also won a medal in each discipline at the 2020 Summer Olympics only Gregorio Paltrinieri won his second medal, a bronze medal in the 10 kilometre open water swim, seconds after Welllbrock and thus Wellbrock became the second swimmer in history to achieve the feat and Gregorio Paltrinieri the third.
2021–Present
At the 2021 European Short Course Swimming Championships, held at the Palace of Water Sports in Kazan, Russia, Wellbrock won a gold medal in the 1500 metre freestyle on 4 November with a time of 14:09.88. On 7 November, Wellbrock won the silver medal in the 800 metre freestyle in 7:27.99, finishing five-hundredths of a second behind gold medalist in the event Gregorio Paltrinieri.
At the Abu Dhabi Aquatics Festival, held in parallel with the 2021 World Short Course Championships, in December 2021, Wellbrock won a bronze medal as part of the open water 4×1500 metre mixed relay event. In his individual event, the 10 kilometre open water swim, Wellbrock won the gold medal in a time of 1:48:09.4, finishing over two seconds ahead of silver medalist Domenico Acerenza of Italy. As part of the World Championships, Wellbrock swam a 14:25.79 in the prelims heats of the 1500 metre freestyle on 20 December, qualifying for the final the following day ranking third. In the final of the 1500 metre freestyle, Wellbrock set a new world record with a time of 14:06.88 and won the gold medal. Wellbrock also co-hosted a swimming clinic at the venue of the World Championships, Etihad Arena, with Anthony Ervin of the United States.
Awards and honours
- FINA, Top 10 Moments: 2020 Summer Olympics (#9 for winning the first gold medal of his Olympic career in the 10 kilometre open water swim as a 23-year-old)
- FINA, Athlete of the Year, open water swimming (male): 2021
- Swimming World, Open Water Swimmer of the Year (male): 2019, 2021
- SwimSwam, Swammy Award, Open Water Swimmer of the Year (male): 2019, 2021
- SwimSwam, Top 100 (Men's): 2021 (#18), 2022 (#11)
- LEN, Best Open Water Swimmer (Male): 2021
Personal life
Wellbrock married Sarah Köhler of Germany in January 2022 after getting engaged in December 2020.
See also
- List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (men)
- List of World Swimming Championships (25 m) medalists (men)
References
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Florian Wellbrock". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
- "2016 Luxembourg Euro Meet: Day 1 - Meet Results - Swimming World". www.swimmingworldmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 29 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- ^ Race, Retta (5 May 2016). "2016 German National Championships - Day 1 Finals Live Recap". SwimSwam. Archived from the original on 29 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- Marsteller, Jason (5 May 2016). "2016 German Nationals: Day 1 Finals Live Recap". Swimming World News. Archived from the original on 24 August 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- "Olympedia – Florian Wellbrock". www.olympedia.org. Archived from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- "Men's 1500m Freestyle". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- "Florian Wellbrock". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
- Neidigh, Lauren (31 August 2016). "2016 FINA World Cup: Hosszu Wins 4 Events, Medals in 6 on Berlin Day 2". SwimSwam. Archived from the original on 29 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- Brien, Taylor (31 August 2016). "2016 FINA World Cup Berlin: Day 2 Finals Full Recap". Swimming World News. Archived from the original on 29 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- "Florian Wellbrock Becomes 1st to Win 10K/1500 Gold at Major International Meet". Swimswam News. 28 July 2019. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- "Olympedia – 10 kilometres Open Water, Men". www.olympedia.org. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- "Photo finish decides 10k open water race at world titles" Archived 24 August 2024 at the Wayback Machine. The Seattle Times. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- "Germany Stages Multi-Olympic Qualification Meets". SwimSwam. 18 March 2021. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ Eggert, Greg (5 August 2021). "Wellbrock ran away with it!" Archived 21 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine. FINA. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- "Germany's Florian Wellbrock wins men's marathon swimming at Tokyo Olympics" Archived 24 August 2024 at the Wayback Machine. ESPN. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- Murakami, Sakura (4 August 2021). "Marathon Swimming- Germany's Wellbrock wins men's marathon swimming gold" Archived 22 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Reuters. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- LEN (4 November 2021). "2021 European Short Course Swimming Championships Kazan (RUS): Results 1500m Freestyle Men Final" Archived 22 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Microplus Informatica. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- LEN (7 November 2021). "2021 European Short Course Swimming Championships Kazan (RUS): Results 800m Freestyle Men Final" Archived 22 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Microplus Informatica. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- Byrnes, Liz (15 December 2021). "Gregorio Paltrinieri Steers Italy To Victory in Mixed Open Water Relay In Abu Dhabi" Archived 15 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Swimming World. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- "FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim World Series 2021 – Grand Finale: Men 10km" Archived 16 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine. FINA. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- FINA (20 December 2021). "15th FINA World Swimming Championships 2021 Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's 1500m Freestyle Heats Results Summary" Archived 26 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Omega Timing. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- FINA (21 December 2021). "15th FINA World Swimming Championships 2021 Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's 1500m Freestyle Final Results" Archived 21 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Omega Timing. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- Sutherland, James (21 December 2021). "Florian Wellbrock Smashes 1500 Free World Record In 14:06.88" Archived 21 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine. SwimSwam. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- Rieder, David (21 December 2021). "Florian Wellbrock Takes Down 1500 Free World Record at Short Course Worlds" Archived 24 August 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Swimming World. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- "Athletes underline commitment to sustainability and legacy in Abu Dhabi" Archived 29 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine. FINA. 29 December 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
- "Tokyo Olympics: Top 10 moments" Archived 26 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine. FINA. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- D'Addona, Dan (17 December 2021). "FINA Yearly Awards: Caeleb Dressel, Emma McKeon Lead Winners; Filipovic, Steffens, Wellbrock, Cunha Too" Archived 17 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Swimming World. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- Serowik, Lauren (2 November 2019). "Swimming World Presents "The 2019 Open Water Swimmers of the Year: Florian Wellbrock and Ana Marcela Cunha"" Archived 6 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Swimming World. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- "Ana Marcela Cunha and Florian Wellbrock Earn Swimming World Open-Water Swimmer of the Year Honors" Archived 5 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Swimming World. 24 December 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- Keith, Braden (18 December 2019). "2019 Swammy Awards: Male Open Water Swimmer Of The Year Florian Wellbrock" Archived 6 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine. SwimSwam. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- Keith, Braden (5 January 2022). "2021 Swammy Awards: Male Open Water Swimmer Of The Year Florian Wellbrock" Archived 24 August 2024 at the Wayback Machine. SwimSwam. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- Anderson, Jared (4 February 2021). "SwimSwam's Top 100 For 2021: Men's #20 – #11" Archived 27 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine. SwimSwam. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- Sutherland, James (20 January 2022). "SwimSwam's Top 100 For 2022: Men's #20–11" Archived 28 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine. SwimSwam. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- "Peaty, Sjostrom, Wellbrock & Van Rouwendaal Headline 2021 LEN Awards" Archived 31 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine. SwimSwam. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- Race, Retta (11 January 2022). "German Power Couple Wellbrock & Köhler Get Married" Archived 24 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine. SwimSwam. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- Koos, Torin (3 February 2022). "What your favorite swimmers and divers have been up to this offseason" Archived 3 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine. FINA. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
External links
- Florian Wellbrock at World Aquatics
- Florian Wellbrock at SwimRankings.net
- Florian Wellbrock at Olympics.com
- Florian Wellbrock at Olympedia
- Florian Wellbrock at the German Olympic Sports Confederation (in German)
| Olympic champions in men's 10 km marathon | |
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| World long-course champions in men's 1500 m freestyle | |
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| World short-course champions in men's 1500 m freestyle | |
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| World Champions in Men's 5km Open Water | |
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| World Champions in Men's 10km Open Water | |
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| European Champions in Men's 1500 m Freestyle | |
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| European Short Course Champions in Men's 1500 m Freestyle | |
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- 1997 births
- Living people
- German male freestyle swimmers
- Olympic swimmers for Germany
- Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Sportspeople from Bremen (city)
- European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
- World Aquatics Championships medalists in open water swimming
- World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
- Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Olympic bronze medalists in swimming
- Olympic bronze medalists for Germany
- World record setters in swimming
- World record holders in swimming
- Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m)
- Swimmers at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- SC Magdeburg sportspeople
- 21st-century German sportsmen