Olympic champion Lukas Märtens and his coach Bernd Berkhahn changed the game in 400m freestyle racing with a 3:39.96 World record at the Swim Open Stockholm in Sweden that rook down fellow German Paul Biedermann's Rome 2009 shiny suits mark and Ian Thorpe's Manchester 2002 textile high bar.

If the time was 0.11sec inside Biedermann, 0.12sec inside Thorpe, it was the manner in which it was executed by Märtens that caught the eye:

• at 51.90 he matched Mark Spitz's first 100m free World record in 1970
• at 1:47.55, he matched the third of Michael The Albatross Gross' third 200m free World record from 1984

And that meant that he delivered the fastest 400m free swim from start to finish splits and end game that we‘ve seen for almost 23 years, since Thorpe's Commonwealth gold in 2002. Märtens told German media:

"I felt good after the altitude training camp and knew I was in shape – but I really didn't expect a time like that ... it was surprising, I have to let that sink in first."

Biedermann was among the first to congratulate Märtens, noting that the two men hail from the same state in Germany. The 2009 World champion wrote on Instagram:

"Congratulations! What an incredible achievement. I'm very happy that the record remains in Saxony-Anhalt!"

Märtens led a Magdeburg sweep, Olympic Marathon silver medallist Oliver Klemet closest in 3:43.40, Olympic marathon champion of 2020one, Florian Wellbrock, third in 3:45.29.

• Stockholm Results in full

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State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

It was April last year when Märtens put the writing on the wall with this swim: 52.37; 1:48.59; 2:44.81; 3:40.33.

The first sub-3:40 in history is the evolution:

• 51.90; 1:47.55; 2:44.01; 3:39.96 (55.95) - Lukas Märtens GER - Stockholm 2025
• 54.42/1:51.02/2:47.17/3:40.07 (52.90) - Paul Biedermann GER - Rome 2009
• 53.02; 1:49.57; 2:45.43; 3:40.08 - Ian Thorpe AUS - Manchester 2002

The sense of frustration in Berkhahn's Magdeburg camp was tangible with Märtens clocked that  3:40.33 on the opening day of German Championships in Berlin this time last year on the way to Paris 2024 gold at the helm of the fastest Olympic 400m podium in history.

In Stockholm, pressure off in terms of the occasion, pressure on in terms of the mega goal and the line in the history book yet to be written, the barrier yet to be broken, the shiny suits era and The Torpedo yet to be surpassed, Märtens had his feet on the wall faster than Mike Wenden, the 1968 100-200m Olympic champion for Australia, ever finished a 100m race, and had the German ace sopped a 100, he would have matched the best hand-and-wall of finish of Spitz.

Except he had another 300m to go. And every single assessment I recall making about tiny suits came into clear focus in the manner in which Märtens had to race if he was to have a fish-in-hell's chance of getting past Biedermann on the clock:

• 51.90 - 2.52sec inside Biedermann
• 1:47.55 - 3.47sec inside Biedermann
• 2:44.01 - 3.16sec inside Biedermann
• 3:39.96 - 0.11sec inside Biedermann

No comment required. Here's a glance at the previous swiftest of swims that Märtens surpassed:

The All-Time Splits compared:

Textile Top 4

• 53.02; 1:49.57; 2:45.43; 3:40.08 Ian Thorpe AUS Manchester 2002, Commonwealth Gold
• 53.59; 1:50.52; 2:46.64; 3:40.14 Sun Yang CHN London 2012 Olympic Gold
• 52.37; 1:48.59; 2:44.81; 3:40.33 Lukas Märtens GER Berlin 2024
• 53.58; 1:49.29; 2:45.49; 3:40.68 Sam Short AUS Fukuoka 2023 Worlds Gold

Shiny Suits Era - Top 3

• 54.42; 1:51.02; 2:47.17; 3:40.07 Paul Biedermann GER Rome 2009 Worlds Gold
• 53.86; 1:50.44; 2:46.29; 3:41.11 Ousamma Mellouli TUN Rome 2009
• 53.97; 1:50.71; 2:47.15; 3:41.35 Zhang Lin CHN Rome 2009

The Race Video:

The German Swimming Federation (DSV) posted a note that included: "... how awesome are you!"

Märtens claimed Olympic gold in 3:41.78 ahead of Elijah Winnington (3:42.21) and Kim Woomin (3:42.50), the times partly a reflection of the occasion, the pool, he pressure, but the result a reflection of the art of setting a lead pace in a pattern not dissimilar to that which sent smoke off the water in Stockholm this weekend.

Märtens Leads Fastest Podium & Top 6 Finish In Olympic History

Lukas Märtens raced through a timewarp in the gap between Wenden and Spitz, then Gaines and Gross, on the way to gold crafted in the courage of a pace no others could match in Paris

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Märtens' Paris victory made him the first German man to win a gold medal in the pool at the Olympics since Gross took 200 'fly gold in 1988. Uwe Dassler is also in that picture: he won the 400m free title, and Seoul 1988 was the last Games to feature East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall, key moments in that history a part of our Forum this week:

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State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Märtens' downing of Biedermann's standard leaves four men's shiny suits records standing: Cesar Cielo (50 free, 20.91), Biedermann (200 free, 1:42.00), Zhang Lin (800 free, 7:32.12) and Aaron Peirsol (200 back, 1:51.92). Liu Zige’s 2:01.81 200 fly is the sole record in women’s events, torso cover and angles of buoyancy forming key parts of explanation.