AP International: Lukas Martens Drops Another Strong 400 Freestyle; Duncan Scott Grabs 200 IM Title
The first day of the AP International saw Lukas Martens claim victory in the 200-meter backstroke, the German standout’s range on display at the London Aquatic Centre. On Night Two of the competition, Martens returned to his signature event and was dominant en route to another triumph.
Contesting the 400 freestyle, Martens comfortably dispatched the field with a winning time of 3:42.98, the third time he has been sub-3:43 this year. Martens led a German sweep of the top-three positions, as he was followed by countrymen Oliver Klemet (3:46.03) and Florian Wellbrock (3:48.61). Klemet and Wellbrock were first and second in the 1500 freestyle on Saturday.
The reigning Olympic champion in the 400 freestyle, Martens has enjoyed a sensational 2025 campaign, despite the early stages of the season. At April’s Stockholm Open, Martens broke the world record in the 400 freestyle, going 3:39.96. That performance took down the 2009 standard of countryman Paul Biedermann and enabled Martens to become the first athlete to crack the 3:40 barrier in the event. Martens was also 3:40.61 at the German Championships earlier this month.
Martens will be the heavy favorite to capture gold in the 400 freestyle at this summer’s World Championships in Singapore. A gold medal in Asia would give the German the Triple Crown in the 400 free, as he already owns Olympic gold and the world record.
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Meet Results
Day One Recap
Duncan Scott Outduels Tom Dean in 200 IM
Great Britain’s Duncan Scott, the silver medalist in the 200 IM at the past two Olympics, surged to an early lead in the event and held off a late charge by Tom Dean. Scott got the decision in 1:58.52 while Dean was credited with a time of 1:58.80.
Scott went out in 24.76 for the butterfly leg and was at 54.76 at the midway point of the race, well ahead of Dean and his 56.02 split. At the turn from breaststroke to freestyle, Scott was at 1:29.51, 1.10 seconds ahead of Dean. Dean, the 2020 Olympic champ in the 200 freestyle, closed down the freestyle leg but ultimately ran out of room.
Dean snared a second runnerup finish later in the session when he touched behind Matt Richards in the 100 freestyle. Richards covered his two laps in 48.63, with Dean going 48.95. At the World Champs, the pair will team up with Scott and James Guy for Britain’s latest pursuit of a global title in the 800 freestyle relay.
Another British victory was claimed by Freya Colbert in the women’s 200 freestyle, as her time of 1:57.15 was well ahead of the 1:58.95 of Austria’s Iris Julia Berger.
Moesha Johnson Looks Strong; Eneli Efimova Grabs Win
Australian Moesha Johnson, who excels for the Dolphins in the pool and open water, just missed going under the 16-minute mark in the 1500 freestyle. Johnson notched a first-place finish of 16:00.42, an indicator that she is in good position ahead of the Aussie Trials for the World Championships. She was followed in second place by Germany’s Isabel Gose, who touched in 16:04.00.
Johnson was the silver medalist in the 10K open-water event at last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, and has represented Australia at the past three editions of the World Championships – whether in the pool or in open-water action.
Estonia’s Eneli Efimova built an early advantage over Great Britain’s Angharad Evans in the women’s 100 breaststroke and held on for the win, 1:05.81 to 1:06.04. Efimova was out in 30.74, compared with the 31.28 of Evans, and that front-half margin proved to be the difference. Both Efimova and Evans figure to contend for the podium at the World Championships.
In Other Action:
Great Britain’s Katie Shanahan and Abbie Wood were the only athletes to go under 4:40 in the women’s 400 individual medley, with Shanahan prevailing in 4:37.99. Wood picked up second place with a swim of 4:39.65.
The Czech Republic’s Miroslav Knedla was quickest in the men’s 50 backstroke, as his time of 24.82 held off the 24.93 of Britain’s Oliver Morgan. In women’s sprint action, Japan’s Rikako Ikee topped the field in the 50 butterfly with a time of 25.92.
Belgium’s Roos vanotterdijk came out on top in the women’s 100 backstroke, thanks to a 59.74 effort, and Luka Mladenovic of Austria prevailed in the men’s 50 breaststroke. Mladenovic stopped the clock in 27.12, followed by the Netherlands’ Caspar Corbeau (27.35). Another Czech victory came from Ondrej Gemov in the men’s 200 butterfly, where he went 1:57.08.
