Thomasberger Scorches New German 200 Fly National Record

QUALIFIKATIONSWETTKAMPF HEIDELBERG (GER)

• April 3rd – April 4th
• Prelims at 11am local/Finals at 5pm local
• OSP Rhein-Neckar Schwimmhalle
• Additional qualification opportunities in Magdeburg, Dortmund and Berlin this month
• Start Lists/Results

Although not the sole Olympic-qualifying opportunity for German swimmers, this two-day meet in Heidelberg still serves as an important milestone to get one’s name on the Tokyo roster.

Taking advantage of the chance to race was 25-year-old David Thomasberger. Thomasberger just scorched the fastest 200m butterfly time of his career, cracking the German national record in the process.

Competing in today’s prelims in Heidelberg, Thomasberger stopped the clock in a mighty 1:55.51. Not only did that land lane 4 with ease, beating the next-closest competitor by over 6 seconds, but his time also overtook the previous German standard of 1:55.76. That mark was set by Ramon Klenz in 2018 but Thomasberger managed to slice .15 from the record to become Germany’s fastest man ever.

Thomasberger opened his swim this morning in 54.72 before bringing it home in 1:00.79. In doing so, Thomasberger dipped under the 1:56 threshold for the first time of his career, surpassing his previous personal best of 1:56.01 from the 2019 Bergen Swim Festival.

Globally, Thomasberger’s 1:55.51 new German record renders him as the 5th fastest swimmer in the world this season with the final yet to go.