You can’t necessarily say that Lukas Märtens made himself rare after his Olympic victory in the 400 meter freestyle. It is often said that the athletes who achieve this feat fall into a nasty hole. One that is significantly deeper than the 50-meter pool in which Märtens caught the first Olympic gold for German swimming since 1988 in the La Défense Arena in Paris. But Märtens didn’t have time to fall into such a hole. Because for a new celebrity like him, the marathon only begins after what is probably the most important race of his career.
Märtens visited Disneyland with teammates Isabel Gose, Angelina Köhler and Ole Braunschweig during the Summer Games in the French capital; he was announced and honored by the stadium announcer at the home game of his 1. FC Magdeburg against Schalke 04, something a swimmer has to achieve first; His name now adorns a floor plate on the “Walk of Fame”, not in Hollywood, but at least in Magdeburg, on Breite Weg, near Goldschmiedebrücke. Märtens also received the audience award “Golden Hen”, this time in a stylish tuxedo. He shook the hand of Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, wearing a Bundeswehr uniform. And from what we know, this rather reserved, polite and charming young man survived the slog through all sorts of talk shows and podcasts quite well.
Märtens wasn’t in the water for many weeks. At least not in the training pool.
It wasn’t until mid-October that he got back into the element in which he was faster than everyone else in the 400 meter freestyle two and a half months earlier. He started regular training in November, initially in very measured doses. Given that the Short Course World Championships begin in Budapest this Tuesday, one could now speak of a jump into the deep end. “It’s time for him to orient himself a bit and get back into serious training. This is now also a measure to get him back on track,” says national coach Bernd Berkhahn, who guides Märtens in Magdeburg.
In Hungary’s capital, Märtens only swims one individual race, on his gold course from Paris, as well as the 4×200-meter freestyle relay and perhaps the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. It’s not a mammoth program that awaits him there, but he sees Budapest as a small training area anyway, as a warm-up for the really important next major event after Paris: the Swimming World Championships in July 2025 in Singapore. The entire elite will then compete there again, unlike now on the 25-meter track. This alone shows how much higher the reputation and importance of the 50-meter pool is.
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Especially since Märtens has hardly any experience on the short course so far; in his last World Cup appearance there in Abu Dhabi in 2021, he didn’t even make it to the final. And Märtens is probably far from his top form not only because of his lack of training, but also because of two operations that were unavoidable after the summer. A chronic sinus infection had already spoiled his autumn of 2023, and it also restricted his preparation for the Olympics. This penalty has now also been eliminated.
His coach Berkhahn, critical as always, is now trying to “get a system in place, stabilize the technique, build the foundations.” But aside from the technical aspects, it is now also part of an exciting social experiment. Because in his Magdeburg elite training group there are now two Olympic champions in Märtens and Florian Wellbrock. And while one (Wellbrock) experienced a debacle in the pool and open water in Paris, the other could now move to the top of the hierarchy.
The good thing is that the long-time top dog Wellbrock and Märtens no longer meet on the same routes since Märtens turned his focus to the middle distances. At the same time, in German swimming there is no longer just one face for men, but at least two. Wellbrock returned after the disgrace in Paris at the Open Water World Cup in Saudi Arabia in November with victories over ten kilometers and in the relay. His coach Berkhahn reported in the press conference before the Short Course World Cup: “What happened in Paris will never be forgotten, it’s just part of his career now. It’s about whether he can use that to draw positive energy from it.” After all, Wellbrock has now “started at 110 percent from day one.” In contrast to Märtens.
The current Olympic champion recently reported in the podcast of his favorite club 1. FC Magdeburg that “not a day has been quiet” since July 27th, the summer of his life. But despite all the hustle and bustle, he also enjoyed the days after his gold race, and not just in Disneyland. As he reports in the podcast, he even went against his nature and asked Zinédine Zidane, who had just appeared in front of the German House when Märtens was signing autographs, for a selfie: “I immediately started shaking,” said Märtens about meeting the former world footballer.
The tremors will probably continue, even in Budapest. How will I do? Am I even competitive? These are questions that are likely to concern a doubter like Märtens, despite his success. On Sunday morning he travels from Budapest towards Baden-Baden for the next gala. Lukas Märtens is considered one of the favorites in the election for athlete of the year. Only then can a conclusion be drawn under the year of his life so far.
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