The Performance of the Week comes from the 2016 German Nationals, where Marco Koch continued his dominance in the 200 breaststroke. Touching in 2:07.88, Koch just missed his top-ranked time of 2:07.69 from the Luxembourg Euro Meet back in January (which, you may remember, was also the Performance of the Week).
Koch’s time from German Nationals is just slightly slower than his gold medal performance at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, where he finished in 2:07.76 ahead of Kevin Cordes and Daniel Gyurta. But what may be more impressive is that he has already been faster than that this year, twice. Koch posted a pair of 2:07 200 breaststrokes in January and February of this year, showing a level of consistent speed that no one has been able to match this season. Back in February, Koch posted a 2:07.74 at the FFN Golden Tour stop in Amiens in addition to his world leading time from the Luxembourg Euro Meet. Those performances make Koch an early favorite for gold at the Rio Olympics this summer and should put Akihiro Yamaguchi’s world record of 2:07.01 on notice.
Congratulations Marco Koch on earning Swimming World’s Performance of the Week!
David Woods