Sven Schwarz Sets Euro Record 7:38.12 For German 800 Crown As Berkhahn's Magdeburg Might Flexes Collective Muscle
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 over 800 free when backed up by two age-record- holding training partners waiting in the wings on 7:51.04 and 7:51.29
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:
| Time | Name | Team | Meet City | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7:32.12 | Zhang Lin | CHN | Rome | 29/07/2009 |
| 7:35.27 | Oussama Mellouli | TUN | Rome | 29/07/2009 |
| 7:37.00 | Ahmed Hafnaoui | TUN | Fukuoka | 26/07/2023 |
| 7:37.76 | Samuel Short | AUS | Fukuoka | 26/07/2023 |
| 7:38.12 | Sven Schwarz | GER | Berlin | 02/05/2025 |
| 7:38.19 | Daniel Wiffen | IRL | Paris | 30/07/2024 |
| 7:38.57 | Sun Yang | CHN | Shanghai | 27/07/2011 |
| 7:38.65 | Grant Hackett | AUS | Montreal | 27/07/2005 |
| 7:38.67 | Bobby Finke | USA | Fukuoka | 26/07/2023 |
| 7:39.10 | Lukas Maertens | GER | Stockholm | 15/04/2025 |
| 7:39.16 | Ian Thorpe | AUS | Fukuoka | 24/07/2001 |
| 7:39.27 | Gregorio Paltrinieri | ITA | Gwangju | 24/07/2019 |
| 7:39.63 | Florian Wellbrock | GER | Budapest | 21/06/2022 |
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:
Craig Lord
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 Berkhahn 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.
It all added up to...
