The home of Germany and coach Bernd Berkhahn's Magdeburg Might - the world's leading international distance freestyle program on medal count at the Paris 2024 Olympics and undoubted top scoring squad at Singapore 2025 World Championships in distance swimming - is to have a new state-of-the-art excellence centre.

Plans for new facility for elite athletes in Magdeburg have been in the works for some years but the question of where the funding would come from had remained unanswered until this month, when Germany's federal government included the swim project on its list of programs that will be funded in its "Sports Billion" initiative to revive the nation's sports fortunes across a wide range of sports.

Germany's lead coach, Berkhahn noted that the current generation of athletes may not benefit from the decision to build a facility that is unlikely to be in place before the LA2028 Olympics. Even so, on the shoulders of the wave of swimmers who have led a turnaround in Germany's fortunes in the pool, the new centre represented a "huge step" for future generations, Berkhahn told the broadcaster MDR.

The German state intends to invest one billion euros over the next four years on renovating sports facilities across the nation.

To be built next to the multi-sport/multi-function Getec Arena in Magdeburg, the news swim centre will feature at its heart a 50m competition pool, a flume, diagnostic/medical centre and a hypobaric chamber, which simulates high-altitude conditions by reducing air pressure.