German Olympic Trials: Trio of German Records Tumble

BERLIN, Germany, May 12. THE third day of Olympic qualifying at the German Olympic Trials produced some sterling swims, including a trio of German national records during finals action.

Jan-Philip Glania bettered the German record in the men's 200 back with a winning time of 1:55.87. The effort cleared the 1:56.34 set by Helge Meeuw back in 2006. Glania jumped to second in the world rankings with the swim, behind only Ryosuke Irie's world-leading 1:54.02. He also improved to a 17th-place tie with Lenny Krayzelburg in the all-time rankings in the history of the distance dorsal. The swim also blasted the FINA A cut of 1:58.33, and the internal German standard of 1:58.14. Yannick Lebherz raced to second in 1:56.84 to earn another individual swim at the London Olympics, and move to fifth in the world rankings behind Ben Stasiulis (1:56.39) and Kazuki Watanabe (1:56.83). Felix Wolf rounded out the top three in 1:58.11 to crack the top 25.

Jenny Mensing produced the second German mark of the night, edging her record in the women's 200 back with a 2:08.30. That time picked off the 2:08.58 she set during prelims, which in turn clipped her 2009 standard of 2:08.80. She jumped to eighth in the world rankings with the swim, and earned her a FINA A cut. Lisa Graf (2:13.46) and Eileen Diener (2:13.64) finished a distant second and third.

Markus Deibler smashed his German record in the men's 200 IM with a 1:57.82. That performance downed the 1:58.67 he set last year in Berlin, and moved him to third in the world rankings this year. Only Michael Phelps (1:56.32) and Thiago Pereira (1:57.11) have been faster this year. He also vaulted to 15th in the all-time rankings with the swim, and easily bested the FINA A cut of 2:00.17 as well as the German mark of 1:59.51. Phillip Heintz earned the second spot on the Olympic roster with a second-place 1:58.82, while Jan David Schepers finished third in 1:59.37. Philipp Forster downed a German age group standard with a fourth-place 2:02.11.

Britta Steffen matched her 100 free relay leadoff from day one (53.65) with a 53.68 to win the women's 100 free individual title. Her leadoff pushed her to fourth in the world, behind Ranomi Kromowidjojo (52.75), Sarah Sjostrom (53.29) and Fran Halsall (53.57). The swims locked down an Olympic bid for the reigning Olympic gold medalist as she cleared the FINA A cut of 54.57 as well as the internal German mark of 54.46. Daniela Schreiber touched second in 54.41, under both marks for the second Olympic spot. She moved to 24th in the world rankings with the swim. Silke Lippok (55.01) and Lisa Vitting (55.09) finished third and fourth in the event.

Steffen Deibler clipped Ben Starke, 52.00 to 52.09, in the men's 100 fly. Deibler jumped to sixth in the world rankings, while Starks pushed to an 11th-place tie. Both swimmers cleared the FINA A cut of 52.36 to earn spots at the Olympics, and also bettered the internal German qualification time of 52.18. Philip Heintz placed third in 52.22 for 15th in the world.

Alexandra Wenk downed a German age group record with a winning time of 58.59 in the women's 100 fly. Her effort improved her to 20th in the world rankings, and bested the FINA A cut of 58.70. Sina Sutter touched second in 58.70, matching the FINA A cut, but short of Germany's stricter internal mark of 58.20. Theresa Michalak earned third in 59.24.

Paul Biedermann raced to victory in the men's 400 free with a 3:47.98. That performance moved him to 13th in the world rankings. Biedermann was one of two pre-qualified swimmers, as Germany already selected him in the 200 and 400 freestyle events for the London Olympic roster Christian vom Lehn is the other pre-qualified swimmer in the 200 breast. Martin Grodzki touched second in 3:48.54, under the FINA A cut, but off the German internal mark of 3:47.26. Grodzki moved to 17th in the world with the swim. Clemens Rapp wound up third in 3:49.53.

Sarah Kohler snared the women's 400 free crown in 4:14.56, while Johanna Friedrich took second in 4:15.32. Denise Gruhn placed third in 4:15.76. Marco Di Carli claimed the men's 50 free title in 22.44, while Steffen Deibler (22.57) and Christoph Fildebrandt (22.72) rounded out the podium.

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