Schwarz Ploughs Lonely 14:42 Win Over 30 Laps As Köhler Elendt & Gose Claim Their Career 15th Crowns
German Championships end with Sven Schwarz home alone in the 1500 free, and career record titles No15 for Angelina Köhler (3 golds, Berlin 2026), Anna Elendt (3 golds), and Isabel Gose (4 golds). Cornelius Jahn celebrates a third backstroke cut for Paris Europeans
The German Championships came to a close in Berlin this evening with a lonely 14:42 victory for Sven Schwarz in the 1500m freestyle, gold No4 for Isabel Gose, her 8:24 in the 800m adding to victories in the 200, 400 and 1500m in the past week, and the completion of a stroke sweep for Anna Elendt and a third gold, too, for Angelina Köhler. There was also a stroke sweep for Cornelius Jahn, completed with victory in the 200m backstroke.
They did not compete against each other, but, first Köhler, then Elendt, then Gose in program order tied in the race for most national long-course titles: each of their victories marked their respective 15th solo-event gold medals at long-course championships.
Elendt, World 100m breaststroke champion last year, added a 2:24 win in the 200m breaststroke to her earlier triumphs in the 50 and 100m finals in a league of her own, which could also be said of Köhler, who clocked 25.6 to retain the 50 'fly crown after wins in the 100 'fly and 50 free.
The German men brought the curtain down on the championships with a full score of qualifying standards for the European Championships in Paris, targets times achieved in every individual event.
The last wave of women's finals also witnessed several more swims inside target times for the European Championships in Paris, August 10-16, and a home continental Junior showcase in Munich, July 7-12.
The final finals
Men's 1500m - Schwarz Swims A Lonely 14:42 To Become 1st Champion Over 30 Laps In 10 Years Not Named Wellbrock
Florian Wellbrock, winner of a record four open-waters golds at World championships last year, has won every German 1500m free long-course crown of the past 10 years. His run ended today in his absence as World-championship silver medallist of 2025, Cornelius Jahn claimed gold in 14:42.32, a pace that left him more than 2sec per 100m ahead of the nearest contender.
The race went without breakthrough man of the season, teenager Johannes Liebmann, who withdrew from the championships through illness after having taken the Stockholm Open by storm with a set of gauntlet-chucking distance freestyle swims, the first of which took down Schwarz's European 800m record:
Craig Lord
Craig Lord
No nation alone has ever had five men racing at the pace of Wellbrock, Lukas Märtens, Schwartz, Oliver Klemet and Liebmann in events 400m to 10k at the helm of global big-podium pace as contemporary national teammates.
For Schwarz, coached by Emil Guliyev at W98 Hannover, today's win Wass more time trial than race, and marked is second gold of the week after his 800m triumph. The 1500 podium was completed by Paulo Strehlke Delgado (15:13.95) and Simon Reinke (15:17.40), each celebrating their first national long-course senior championship medals:
Women's 800m freestyle - Four-Golds Gose
To cap off a winning national championship, Isabel Gose, coached by Bernd Berkhahn at the Magdeburg performance centre that is home to Wellbrock, Märtens, Klemet and Liebmann, completed a ruin of four golds on freestyle with a 8:24.18 victory in the 800m freestyle.
Like Schwarz, she was the only contender for gold, retaining the title almost 14 seconds ahead of Linda Roth (8:38.23), the bronze to Fabienne Wenske in 8:45.17, Germany among many nations where distance free podiums are reached in times Australian Shane Gould and peers in the early 1970s were not too far away from.
Women's 50m Butterfly - Kohler's Third Gold
Angelina Köhler, coached by Lasse Frank at Berlin Neuköln, clocked 25.61 top grab her third title of the meet and her 15th career national long-course crown. Maya Tobehn (26.67) and Yara Fay Riefstahl (26.70) completed the podium.
Women's 200m breaststroke - Another Sweep For League-Apart Elendt
Anna Elendt, World 100m champion in Singapore last year, stopped the clock at 2:24.77, her third win for the stroke sweep and her third Paris European qualifier, this one 1.33sec inside the cut. She joined Köhler with 15 career titles overall. Nearest to coach Carol Capitani's Texas charge was Lena Ludwig (2:27.27), the bronze to and Leni Wendrich (2:30.73).
Men's 200m backstroke - Third Ticket To Paris For Jahn
Cornelius Jahn completed a hat trick of qualifying times on backstroke, The Ahrensburg ace currently coached at the Ohio State Buckeyes by Bill Dorenkott, added the 200m gold to his 100m triumph with a dominant 1:56.63 that left him.well inside target time.
The 400IM German champion Cedric Büssing also added to his Paris roster with a 1:58.86 for silver, the bronze to Timo Sorgius on 1:59.90.
Men's 50m butterfly - Armbruster The Decisive Winner
Luca Armbruster, coached by Lasse Frank at Berlin Neuköln, booked his ticket to Pais in 23.13, his victory decisive. He joins Ole Eidam and Josha Salchow on the roster for Paris, Germany's election process a multi-event process. The silver was a snap between Maurice Grabowski and Victor Sanin, both on 23.56. .
Men's 200m breaststroke - Matzerath Makes It 2 Tickets To Paris
Lucas Matzerath, coached by Mark Jayasundara at the Bochum performance centre, celebrated a Paris qualifier with his 2:10.63 victory after having missed the cut in the 100m earlier in the championships. Matthis Schönung also seized the day and earned European selection with a 2:11.77 for silver inside the U23 qualifying standard. German Short Course Champion Kenneth Bock took bronze in 2:12.03.
Women's 200m backstroke - Helget Makes Junior Cut
Hamburg's Mira Helget's 2:12.86 left her 1.84sec under the qualifying time for a home Junior European Championships and marked her first senior national title in the year of her 17th birthday. The minor spoiler went to Noelle Benkler (2:13.92) and Laura Sophie Kohlmann (2:14.67):
