Hendrik Feldwehr triumphs Men’s 50m breast-stroke heats - German World Championships Selection Trial
German national record holder, Hendrik Feldwehr, put forward a wonderful swim in the Men’s 50m breast-stroke event, on day two of the 2011 German World Championships Selection Trial.
The championships are a selection trial for national swimmers, as the competitors occupying the top two spots in each event will have a chance to represent their country at the 2011 Shanghai World Championships.
Feldwehr claimed the fastest qualification spot by appearing first on the finishing wall, posting a time of 27.34 seconds. He was 0.59 seconds ahead of the second fastest swimmer, Erik Steinhagen, who secured second fastest qualification spot, with timing of 27.93 seconds.
Erik was 0.39 seconds away from his following swimmer, Johannes Neumann, who claimed the third fastest spot into the finals, submitting a time of 28.32 seconds.
Hendrik, who improved the German and European mark by clocking a time of 26.83 seconds at the 2009 Rome World Championships, stayed 0.51 seconds away from his own record. The 24-year-old swimmer was 0.67 seconds slower than the world record of 26.67 seconds, set by Cameron Van Der Burgh at the 2009 World Championships.
The German champion controlled the race from the start and gained a slight lead on his fellow swimmers in the first ten metres of the race. With the help of his strong arm-strokes, Hendrik cruised his way towards the finishing wall and overwhelmed the efforts of his fellow swimmers. Erik caught up with him in the last fifteen metres of the race, but the record-holder easily out-touched his challenger, by posting a time of 27.34 seconds.
The fourth qualification spot was secured by 20-year-old, Marco Koch, who touched the wall in 28.40 seconds. He was followed by Florian Abele and Bastian Vollmer, who transpired as the fifth and sixth fastest swimmers, producing a time of 28.67 and 28.71 seconds, respectively.
Tony Wiegmann and Troy Arnicke followed them into the finals, as they secured the seventh and eighth spot, with timings of 28.77 and 28.81 seconds, respectively.
The final of the same event will take place in the next session, where the swimmers will try to secure their spots in the German team to compete in China.
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