Florian Wellbrock (born 19 August 1997) is a German competitive

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

. He is the world record holder in the short course 1500 metre freestyle. He is an Olympic champion, multiple World Champion and European champion, in both

long Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

and short courses. At the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, he won gold in the 10 kilometre open water and bronze in the 1500 metre freestyle. In total, Wellbrock has won 28 medals at international competitions of which 20 are gold. This includes his gold medal at the Olympic games, six at the World Championships, six at the Swimming World Cup and six at the Open Water Swimming World Cup.

Career

At the age of 17, Wellbrock competed in his first international competition as part of the German mixed 4×100 metre relay team at the 17th Luxembourg Euro Meet. In 2016, Wellbrock attended the 18th Luxembourg Euro Meet, where he placed seventh in the 1500 metre freestyle with a time of 15:27.19.

2016 Rio Olympics

In May 2016, Wellbrock returned to the German Swimming Championships (long course), where he set a new personal best of 14:55.49. This time broke the under-20 age group record, put him in the top ten 1500 metre freestyle swimmers in that year, and qualified him for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. The time was just over 5 seconds off the German national record set by Jorg Hoffman in 1991, which was a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

at the time. At the

, Wellbrock swam in the heats of the 1500 metres freestyle, where he finished with a time of 15:23.88 which was just under 30 seconds slower than his personal best set around 3 months earlier. This time did not qualify him for the final.

2016–2020

19 days after his Olympic debut, Wellbrock returned to competition at day two of the 2016 FINA World Cup in Berlin, where he again finished first in the 1500 metre freestyle with a time of 14:35.79. At the

2019 World Aquatics Championships The 2019 World Aquatics Championships were the 18th FINA World Aquatics Championships, held in Gwangju, South Korea from 12 to 28 July 2019. The city had previously hosted the 2015 Summer Universiade aquatics events in the same venues.

, he became the first swimmer to win both the 1500m freestyle and the 10 km open-water race at an international competition. Wellbrock won the 10 kilometre open water swim in 1:47:55.90 with the silver and bronze medalists finishing within two seconds of his time."Photo finish decides 10k open water race at world titles"
. ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

''. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2021.

2020 Summer Olympics

Wellbrock qualified to represent Germany at the

, held in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and postponed to summer of 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. His first medal of the Olympic Games was in the 1500 metre freestyle, where he won the bronze medal.Eggert, Greg (5 August 2021)
"Wellbrock ran away with it!"
.

FINA World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (; ), is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in List of water sports, water sports. It is one of several interna ...

. Retrieved 21 December 2021. Wellbrock also won a gold medal in the 10 kilometre open water swim a few days later with a time of 1:48:33.7, which was over 25 seconds faster than the second-place finisher."Germany's Florian Wellbrock wins men's marathon swimming at Tokyo Olympics"
.

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021. His gold medal was the first won in the event at an Olympic Games by a swimmer representing Germany. His Olympic medals in pool swimming and open water swimming marked the second time a swimmer won medals in both disciplines at one Olympic Games and he was closely followed by the third swimmer to do so, Gregorio Paltrinieri of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

who also won a medal in each discipline at the 2020 Summer Olympics only Gregorio Paltrinieri won his second medal, a bronze medal in the 10 kilometre open water swim, seconds after Welllbrock and thus Wellbrock became the second swimmer in history to achieve the feat and Gregorio Paltrinieri the third.Murakami, Sakura (4 August 2021)
"Marathon Swimming- Germany's Wellbrock wins men's marathon swimming gold"
.

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

. Retrieved 21 December 2021.

2021–Present

At the 2021 European Short Course Swimming Championships, held at the

Palace of Water Sports The Palace of Water Sports (; ) is an indoor aquatics centre in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia which was built for the 2013 Summer Universiade. Located on the banks of the Kazanka River, the competitions in synchronized swimming, diving, swimming and ...

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, Wellbrock won a gold medal in the 1500 metre freestyle on 4 November with a time of 14:09.88. LEN (4 November 2021)
"2021 European Short Course Swimming Championships Kazan (RUS): Results 1500m Freestyle Men Final"
. ''Microplus Informatica''. Retrieved 21 December 2021. On 7 November, Wellbrock won the silver medal in the 800 metre freestyle in 7:27.99, finishing five-hundredths of a second behind gold medalist in the event Gregorio Paltrinieri. LEN (7 November 2021)
"2021 European Short Course Swimming Championships Kazan (RUS): Results 800m Freestyle Men Final"
. ''Microplus Informatica''. Retrieved 21 December 2021. At the Abu Dhabi Aquatics Festival, held in parallel with the 2021 World Short Course Championships, in December 2021, Wellbrock won a bronze medal as part of the open water 4×1500 metre mixed relay event.Byrnes, Liz (15 December 2021)
"Gregorio Paltrinieri Steers Italy To Victory in Mixed Open Water Relay In Abu Dhabi"
. ''

Swimming World } ''Swimming World'' is a US-based quarterly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'' (kn ...

''. Retrieved 15 December 2021. In his individual event, the 10 kilometre open water swim, Wellbrock won the gold medal in a time of 1:48:09.4, finishing over two seconds ahead of silver medalist Domenico Acerenza of

."FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim World Series 2021 – Grand Finale: Men 10km"
.

. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021. As part of the World Championships, Wellbrock swam a 14:25.79 in the prelims heats of the 1500 metre freestyle on 20 December, qualifying for the final the following day ranking third.

(20 December 2021)
"15th FINA World Swimming Championships 2021 Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's 1500m Freestyle Heats Results Summary"
. '' Omega Timing''. Retrieved 20 December 2021. In the final of the 1500 metre freestyle, Wellbrock set a new

with a time of 14:06.88 and won the gold medal.

(21 December 2021)
"15th FINA World Swimming Championships 2021 Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's 1500m Freestyle Final Results"
. '' Omega Timing''. Retrieved 21 December 2021.Sutherland, James (21 December 2021)
"Florian Wellbrock Smashes 1500 Free World Record In 14:06.88"
. ''

SwimSwam ''SwimSwam'' is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012. History The news organization was founded by Braden Keith, Garrett ...

''. Retrieved 21 December 2021.Rieder, David (21 December 2021)
"Florian Wellbrock Takes Down 1500 Free World Record at Short Course Worlds"
. ''

''. Retrieved 21 December 2021. Wellbrock also co-hosted a swimming clinic at the venue of the World Championships, Etihad Arena, with Anthony Ervin of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

."Athletes underline commitment to sustainability and legacy in Abu Dhabi"
.

. 29 December 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.

Awards and honours

, Top 10 Moments:

(#9 for winning the first

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

of his Olympic career in the 10 kilometre open water swim as a 23-year-old)"Tokyo Olympics: Top 10 moments"
.

. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021. * FINA,

Athlete of the Year Athlete of the Year is an award given by various sports organizations for the athlete whom they have determined to be deserving of such recognition. Definition of "athlete" *In many nations, an "athlete" primarily refers to someone who participa ...

, open water swimming (male): 2021D'Addona, Dan (17 December 2021)
"FINA Yearly Awards: Caeleb Dressel, Emma McKeon Lead Winners; Filipovic, Steffens, Wellbrock, Cunha Too"
. ''

''. Retrieved 17 December 2021. * ''

'', Open Water Swimmer of the Year (male): 2019,Serowik, Lauren (2 November 2019)
"Swimming World Presents "The 2019 Open Water Swimmers of the Year: Florian Wellbrock and Ana Marcela Cunha""
. ''

''. Retrieved 6 January 2022. 2021"Ana Marcela Cunha and Florian Wellbrock Earn Swimming World Open-Water Swimmer of the Year Honors"
. ''

''. 24 December 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022. * ''

'', Swammy Award, Open Water Swimmer of the Year (male): 2019,Keith, Braden (18 December 2019)
"2019 Swammy Awards: Male Open Water Swimmer Of The Year Florian Wellbrock"
. ''

''. Retrieved 6 January 2022. 2021Keith, Braden (5 January 2022)
"2021 Swammy Awards: Male Open Water Swimmer Of The Year Florian Wellbrock"
. ''

''. Retrieved 5 January 2022. * ''SwimSwam'', Top 100 (Men's): 2021 (#18),Anderson, Jared (4 February 2021)
"SwimSwam's Top 100 For 2021: Men's #20 – #11"
. ''

''. Retrieved 28 January 2022. 2022 (#11)Sutherland, James (20 January 2022)
"SwimSwam's Top 100 For 2022: Men's #20–11"
. ''

''. Retrieved 28 January 2022. * LEN, Best Open Water Swimmer (Male): 2021"Peaty, Sjostrom, Wellbrock & Van Rouwendaal Headline 2021 LEN Awards"
. ''

''. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.

Personal life

Wellbrock married

Sarah Köhler Sarah Wellbrock (''née'' Köhler; born 20 June 1994) is a retired German swimmer, former World record holder, who won gold medal at 2019 World Championships and gold in 2017 European Swimming Championships (SC). She represented her country at ...

of Germany in January 2022 after getting engaged in December 2020.Race, Retta (11 January 2022)
"German Power Couple Wellbrock & Köhler Get Married"
. ''

''. Retrieved 11 January 2022.Koos, Torin (3 February 2022)
"What your favorite swimmers and divers have been up to this offseason"
.

. Retrieved 3 February 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wellbrock, Florian 1997 births Living people German male freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers for Germany Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Bremen (city) European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in open water swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Olympic bronze medalists for Germany World record setters in swimming World record holders in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Swimmers at the 2024 Summer Olympics SC Magdeburg sportspeople 21st-century German sportsmen