Lukas Märtens Pops 3:41 Outing to Claim 400 Freestyle Title at German Championships
Less than a week after winning the 400-meter freestyle at the Bergen Swim Festival, Lukas Märtens jumpstarted the German Championships in impressive fashion on Thursday night. The reigning world-record holder and Olympic champion in the event, Märtens claimed the 400 freestyle in 3:41.76, which was well ahead of the 3:49.50 from runnerup Christian Giefing.
The only athlete to ever go sub-3:40 in the 400 free, Märtens was more than two seconds ahead of the field just 100 meters into the race and basically raced the clock throughout his eight laps. The 24-year-old’s time is the second-fastest of the 2026 season, trailing only the 3:41.55 performance by China’s Zhang Zhanshuo. Märtens has looked sharp on the road to the European Championships, including a German record last week in the 200 backstroke.
While Märtens won the men’s 400 freestyle, victory in the women’s version of the race went to Isabel Gose, who turned in a solid effort of 4:02.92. Gose had company through the opening 150 meters, but she pulled away from runnerup Maya Werner (4:06.18) over the back half of the race. Meanwhile, Angelina Köhler popped a swim of 56.35 for a dominant decision over Yara Fay Riefstahl (58.23) in the 100 butterfly. Köhler sits third in the world rankings in that event, and also won the 50 freestyle in 24.81.
In the men’s 100 butterfly, Kaii Winkler picked up a narrow victory over Luca Armbruster, 51.82 to 51.85. Bjorn Kammann (51.88) and Josha Sachow (51.89) were right behind. Winkler trailed Armbruster by .39 after the first length, but a closing split of 27.88 enabled Winkler to hit the wall first. Salchow returned to the pool later in the session to win the 50 freestyle in 22.15. Cedric Büssing emerged on top of the men’s 400 individual medley in 4:13.56.
Other winners included:
Women’s 100 Backstroke: Lisa Seidel – 1:01.51
Men’s 100 Backstroke: Cornelius Jahn – 54.08
Women’s 400 Individual Medley: Linda Roth – 4:43.20
