Florian Wellbrock (born 19 August 1997) is a German

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 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 organization ...

holder in the

short course In swimming, the term short course (abbreviated SC) is used to identify a pool that is in length. The term is also often included in meet names when conducted in a short course pool. "Short course" is the second type of pool configuration current ...

1500 metre freestyle. He won gold medals in the 10 kilometre open water swim and 1500 metre freestyle 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.

. At the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

he won the gold medal in the 10 kilometre open water swim and the bronze medal in the 1500 metre freestyle. In December 2021, he won a gold medal in the 1500 metre freestyle at the 2021 World Short Course Championships.

Career

Early career

He competed in the men's 1500 metre freestyle event at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

. At the

, 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 a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...

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

2021

2020 Summer Olympics

Wellbrock qualified to represent Germany at the

, held in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and postponed to summer of 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. 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 FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

''. 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 (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

''. 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 Gregorio Paltrinieri (born 5 September 1994) is an Italian competitive Swimming (sport), swimmer. He is a former List of world records in swimming, world record holder in the short course World record progression 1500 metres freestyle, 1500 metr ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

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 Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

''. Retrieved 21 December 2021.

2021 European Short Course Championships

At the

2021 European Short Course Swimming Championships The 2021 European Short Course Swimming Championships (25 m) were held in Kazan, Russia from 2 to 7 November 2021 at the Palace of Water Sports The Palace of Water Sports (; tt-Cyrl, Су спорт төрләре сара) is an indoor aquatics ...

, held at the

Palace of Water Sports The Palace of Water Sports (; tt-Cyrl, Су спорт төрләре сара) 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 i ...

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, Wellbrock won a gold medal in the 1500 metre freestyle on 4 November with a time of 14:09.88.

LEN Len or LEN may refer to: People and fictional characters * Len (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lén, a character from Irish mythology * Alex Len (born 1993), Ukrainian basketball player * Mr. Len, American hip hop DJ *Le ...

(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.

(7 November 2021)
"2021 European Short Course Swimming Championships Kazan (RUS): Results 800m Freestyle Men Final"
''Microplus Informatica''. Retrieved 21 December 2021.

2021 World Short Course Championships

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 monthly 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'', (known ...

''. 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 Domenico Acerenza (born 19 January 1995) is an Italian open water swimmer and pool swimmer. He is the 2022 European Aquatics Championships gold medalist in the 10 kilometre open water swim and the 2022 World Aquatics Championships silver medal ...

."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 Omega SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848, the company formerly operated as ''La Generale Watch Co.'' until incorporating the name ''Omega'' in 1903, becoming ' ...

''. 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"
''

''. Retrieved 21 December 2021.Sutherland, James (21 December 2021)
"Florian Wellbrock Smashes 1500 Free World Record In 14:06.88"
''

SwimSwam ''SwimSwam'' news is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012 and quickly became the most-read swimming website in the world. ...

''. 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 Etihad Arena (initially known as Yas Bay Arena while under construction) is an indoor arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, located on the Yas Bay Waterfront district of Yas Island. Designed by HOK, the capacity of the venue is 18,000 and i ...

, with

Anthony Ervin Anthony Lee Ervin (born May 26, 1981) is an American competition swimmer who has won four Olympic medals and two World Championship golds. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in the men's 50-meter freestyle, and earned a silver med ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

."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 bee ...

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 participat ...

, 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. *

, 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 German swimmer. She represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics. In the women's 400 metre freestyle, she finished 10th in the heats and did not qualify for the final. In the wome ...

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 swimmers German male freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers of Germany Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Bremen 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)