Sven Schwarz and his 7:38.12 victory ticked three big boxes in the 800m freestyle final on day 2 at the German Championships in Berlin: European record, tick; ticket to Singapore World titles in July, tick; German crown, tick.

On 3:47 in 400m heats yesterday, Scharz withdrew from the fight with three other big German distance freestyle contenders, Olympic champion and World record holder Lukas Märtens, 2024 Olympic Marathon silver medallist Oliver Klemet, and 2020ne Olympic Marathon champion and 1500m free bronze medallist Florian Wellbrock.

And now we know why: Schwarz had the same big fish to fry in a different event.

Inside the continental standard set by Daniel Wiffen, Ireland's first male Olympic swimming champion when he claimed gold at Paris 2024 in 7:38.19, Schwarz, a business student who finished fifth in that same final in France last year, took Germany's top ticket to Singapore ahead of Märtens, who clocked a 7:39.10 German record at the Stockholm Open in Sweden last week.

Worldwide, Schwarz's new career best is the sixth fastest in history, on a list that includes two shiny suit times, and faster than China's Sun Yang*, Australia's Grant Hackett, America's Bobby Finke and Australia's Ian Thorpe - all four of those men with Olympic and/or World titles to their name, have ever swum.

The All-Time Sub-7:40 Club

With No1 and 2 belonging to he shiny suits era:

Schwarz, previous best 7:41.77, celebrated his victory in the knowledge that he's the first German to set a European record at the German Championships since Paul Biedermann's 200m freestyle in 2009. Märtens shaved 0.11sec off Biedermann's Rome 2009 shiny suit 400m World record in 3:39.96 in Stockholm and then backed up with a 3:40.6 win in the 400m yesterday:

Märtens Takes Down Shiny Biedermann & Textile Thorpe With Game-Changing 3:39.96 WR In Stockholm 400 Free

What it took for Lukas Märtens to break Paul Biedermann’s Word record: 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’ 200m free World records, from 1984

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Märtens Backs Up WR With 3:40.6 Win In 400m At German Nationals

On day 1 at German Nationals, tickets to Singapore Worlds go to Lukas Märtens & Oliver Klemet + Isabel Gose and Maya Werner (400 free) - all Magdeburg pupils of Bernd Berkhahn; Angelina Köhler + Nik Armbruster (SG Neukölln Berlin) and Josha Salchow (100 ’fly); Cedric Büssing (400IM)

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Schwarz punched the air with his fists as he realised the record time on the board was his. The 23-year-old from Waspo 98 Hannover and coached by Bernd Bewrkhahn at the Magdeburg performance centre with the other three men mentioned above, outpaced training partners Wellbrock, on 7:43.79, and Klemet (home club SG Frankfurt), on 7:44.61.

No other swim program in the world has ever had four men racing 7:38, 7:39, 7:43 (with a career best 7:39) and 7:44 in one season when backed up by two junior training partners waiting in the wings on 7:51.04, German junior record holder Johannes Liebmann, and Arne Schubert (2005 born), who's 7:51.29 set a German age record.

That all added up to this: World-ranked No 3 so far this season was not good enough to make the grade for World Championships. Understandable, then, that Schwarz, the lead character in that particular tale from the Berkhahn camp, was delighted. Speaking through DSV and its Swim&More media operation, he said:

"It seems to have been the perfect day somehow. I just tried to see what I could do up front. It felt good. It went really well, and I don't know why. It seems to have been the perfect day somehow. It makes me incredibly proud and incredibly happy that I've earned my ticket to the World Championships." After fifth place in the Olympic final and fourth place at the 2024 World Championships, another step forward definitely seems possible in this fantastic form.

"If you want to swim fast times, you have to be brave – and Sven definitely was today," congratulated dethroned record holder Märtens, who had preferred a start in the 100m freestyle (fourth place) that day. Indeed, Schwarz had pushed the pace relentlessly from the start. He needed just 1:52.40 minutes for the first 200m, turning halfway through the race at 3:47.80. And yet he still held on well until the end. And after the finish, he rightfully received the fair congratulations from his rivals."

On what it's like to be working in a group of that calibre and quality, he said 'quite calmly', noted former international and now media officer Raik Hannemann at the DSV:

"We talk about it quite normally among ourselves. We know that each of us can swim such times, and this competition stimulates business. At the moment, I'm the fastest again. But that can change quickly."

The dynamic will be tested again win Sunday in the 1500m, with Wellbrock the only one of the four men not yet holding a certain ticket to Singapore.

The splits and a final of six men inside 8mins, five inside 7:52, three inside 7:45, in a nation that now boasts three sub-40 men, Schwarz, Märtens and Wellbrock. Today's result:

• * - swimmer fell foul of anti-doping regulations, twice.

RESULTS IN FULL

In the women's long-distance events, Olympic bronze medalist Isabel Gose, another of the Magdeburg Mighty retained the 1500m free title in 15:52.34 to confirm her ticket to Singapore.

Celine Rieder (Sport-Union Neckarsulm), who, after winning World Cup silver in open water a week ago, finished second in 16:20.19, shy of the 16:15.80 cut.

There were also Singapore cuts for Josha Salchow in the 100m free, his speed helping Germany qualify a 4x100m free quartet for the global showcase; and Nina Holt in the women's 100m free, with the same outcome, the first German women's 4x100m free at World titles since 2019.

In the 100m breaststroke finals, there were tickets to Singapore for Anna Elendt and for Lucas Matzerath and Melvin Imoudu.

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