Paul Biedermann (; born 7 August 1986) is a German retired 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 ...

, a 200 and 400 metre freestyle

long course An Olympic-size swimming pool conforms to regulated dimensions that are large enough for international competition. This type of swimming pool is used in the Olympic Games, where the race course is in length, typically referred to as "long cour ...

world champion. He holds the long course and

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 ...

world records 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 ...

in the 200 meters freestyle, and the long course

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 ...

in the 400 meters freestyle.

Career

In 2008, Biedermann was ranked 9th in the world in the 200 m freestyle and 21st in the world in the 400 m freestyle. He won the 200 m freestyle long course at the

2008 European Aquatics Championships The 2008 LEN European Aquatics Championships were held in Eindhoven, Netherlands, from 13–24 March 2008. They were the European championships for swimming (50 m), diving and synchronised swimming for 2008. Two new events were contested: ...

final, finishing in a time of 1:46.59. His times for the 400 m freestyle (3:47.69) and 200 m freestyle (NR in 1:46.37) qualified him for the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. At the Olympics, he placed fifth in the 200 m freestyle final (1:46.00) and 17th overall in the 400 m freestyle (3:48.03).

2009 Long Course and 2010 Short Course World Championships

On 26 July 2009, Biedermann won the 400 m freestyle final at the

2009 World Aquatics Championships The 2009 World Aquatics Championships ( it, Campionati mondiali di nuoto 2009) or the XIII FINA World Championships were held in Rome, Italy from 18 July to 2 August 2009. The 2009 Championships featured competition in all 5 aquatics disciplines ...

. He passed 1500 m Olympic champion

Oussama Mellouli Oussama "Ous" Mellouli ( ar, أسامة الملولي; born 16 February 1984) is a Tunisian swimmer who competes in the freestyle and medley events. He is a three-time Olympic medalist, is an African record holder, and trains with the USC Tr ...

in the final 50 metres and finished with a time of 3:40.07, shaving nearly three seconds off his own personal best and bettering

Ian Thorpe Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...

's 2002 world record by one-hundredth of a second. On 28 July, he claimed his second gold of the meet in the 200 m freestyle, defeating

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...

in a world record time of 1:42.00 and cutting more than four seconds off of his time since the year before. Many criticise the authenticity of Biedermann's world records in the 200m and 400m freestyle, as they were swum with the now banned "super-suits," such as the

LZR Racer The LZR Racer (pronounced as "laser") is a line of competition swimsuits manufactured by Speedo using a high-technology swimwear fabric composed of woven elastane-nylon and polyurethane. The swimsuits are made in body-length; they compress th ...

, that were proven to give an advantage particularly over the longer distance freestyle races. In the 2010 Short Course Worlds, Biedermann won gold in the 400 m freestyle, beating Oussama Mellouli again in a race that unfolded almost identically to their race in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

the previous year. In the 200 m freestyle, although he was the world record holder, he only placed 5th. He was over a second behind the first-place finisher

Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by to ...

2011 Long Course World Championships

Biedermann collected bronze medals in the 200 m freestyle, 400 m freestyle, and 4 × 100 m medley relay, as well as finishing 4th in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. He was out-touched by Michael Phelps by 0.09 seconds in the individual 200 m freestyle. However, Biedermann got the better of Phelps in the relay lead-off leg by beating him by 0.33 seconds.

2012 Summer Olympics

At the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, he competed in the 200 m freestyle, finishing 5th (0.6 seconds from a medal); the 400 m freestyle; and the 4 x 200 m freestyle relay as a member of the German team that finished 4th.

2016 Summer Olympics

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 ...

, he competed in the 200 m freestyle where he finished in 6th place. He also competed as part of the 4 x 200 m freestyle relay team which finished in 6th place. Following the games, he announced his retirement from competitive swimming.

Personal bests

* 200 m freestyle: 1:42.00 (28 July 2009) WR * 400 m freestyle: 3:40.07 (26 July 2009) WR

References

External links

* * * * * *
Profile at i-swimmer.ru
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Biedermann, Paul 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Halle (Saale) People from Bezirk Halle German male swimmers German male freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers of Germany Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics World record holders in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming