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The German women will not have another chance to qualify a 400 freestyle relay for the Rio Olympic Games, according to National Team coach Henning Lambertz.
At the 2015 World Championships in Kazan last summer the German quartet did not qualify for the Games. Last week, at the German National Championships, the first step in Germany’s multiple part Olympic qualification process, the relay came up short of the necessary times again.
Lembertz told German media, “Compared with the world’s top (swimmers), our girls look like thin models, not athletes.”
Nineteen year old Anna Dietterle defended herself, and the country’s other top sprinting potential, saying, “I think its unfair to compare out figures with the world’s best, most of whom are five or six years older and at the peak of their careers.”
Dietterle, who, was the second fastest woman in the 100 last week, also said she has put in more time in the weight room this year.
According to Lembertz, “They couldn’t swim the times, they clearly lacked the power.” The team will not be allowed another chance to qualify at next week’s European Championships.
In Kazan, Annika Bruhn, Dorthea Brandt, Alexandra Nathalie Wenk, and Marlene Huther swam the relay which finished 13th, failing to make finals. At last week’s German Nationals, Bruhn posted a 54.85, nearly a half second faster than her 55.34 lead off last summer. Dietterle touched in 55.06, Helen Scholtissek finished third in 55.18, and Paulina Schmiedel was fourth with a 55.52.
Their coach still insisted, “If they had given a good account of themselves in Berlin, we would have sent them, but they are not competitive.”
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It’s Dorothea Brandt, not ” Brandy.”
And Coach Lembertz is either a master psychologist or a master at creating S divisive situation between the coaching staff and the team’s swimmers.
Can you imagine a Mark Schubert or a Frank Busch or a Peter Daland/ Doc Counsilman coming out and publicly declaring in effect: “We stink”?
@bill Bell: as a german native speaker i can assure you that Henning Lambertz is by far not so rude as described in this article. I guess we have ger –> eng translation issues here.
40 years ago I don’t remember hearing any coaches complain about East German women 400×100 free relay being more buff than the men. My how times have changed…