Wrap Of Meets: Lukas Märtens Adds 7:39.10 German 800m Mark To 400WR In Stockholm
Olympic 400m champion Lukas Martens is on a roll in Stockholm: three days after a World record of 3:39.96 over eight lengths at Sweden's Swim Cup, the German ace sneaked inside his own national standard in the 800m; plus, Ellie McCartney & Ellen Walshe in record form in Ireland
SWIM CUP STOCKHOLM
In the curtain-closing session in Stockholm, Lukas Märtens clocked 7:39.10, which compare to the 7:38.19 Olympic victory time and European record set by Ireland's Daniel Wiffen in Paris last summer. Martens’ had held the national mark at 7:39.48 since the final of the 2023 World Titles races in Fukuoka.
Märtens had plenty of German company in Stockholm: four men in a speedy range of 7:39.10 to 7:46.01. Tokyo Olympic marathon champion and 1500m bronze medallist Florian Wellbrock was breathing down his training partner's neck in 7:41.10 ahead of Paris 2024 Marathon silver medallist Oliver Klemet, in 7:44.92, and Sven Schwarz, on 7:46.01.
The battle was very close for 600m, the fastest 400m man we've ever seen piled on the pressure in the closing 200m.
Training partner at coach Bernd Berkhahn's Magdeburg centre to the top two in the men's race, Isabel Gose, 400m winner yesterday, dominated the race, ploughing a lonely lane to an 8:24.64 meet mark 0.03sec inside the mark set by former training partner Sarah Köhler in 2018 on her way to Olympic bronze in the 1500m free in Tokyo three years before Gose matched hat same achievement. Sarah is now Frau Wellbrock an d retired from racing.
