Isabelle Harle wins Women’s 800m freestyle event - 2011 German World Championships Selection Trial
Isabelle Harle of SV Nikar Heidelberg has captured the Women’s 800m freestyle title on the second day of the 2011 German World Championships Selection Trial.
The German Championships are a selection trial for their national team to compete at the 2011 Shanghai World Championships, this July.
The 22-year-old Harle occupied the gold medal of the 800m event in a winning time of 8:34.83 minutes. Her time was outstandingly ahead of her closest competitor, SG Frankfurt’s Sarah Kohler, who appeared on the finishing wall for the silver medal, clocking a time of 8:41.97 minutes. Likewise, Kohler was almost six seconds ahead of her following swimmer, SG Bayer Wup’s Elisa Thimm, who settled for the bronze medal, producing a time of 8:47.19 minutes.
Isabelle’s time was almost 20 seconds ahead of the World and European record of 8:14.10 minutes, made by Rebecca Adlington in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In addition, she was also 15.30 seconds above the German mark of 8:19.53 minutes, set by SC Magdeburg’s Anke Mohring in 1987.
Harle was under Kohler’s lead in the start, as she completed her first round in1:01.91 minutes behind Kohler’s 1:01.58 minutes effort. The two of them initiated a neck-to-neck race, where Harle took the lead from Kohler and completed her second round in 2:06.11 minutes, against Sarah’s 2:06.38 minutes effort.
In the third round, the champion gained almost a lead of two seconds from her strongest rival and posted a time of 3:09.94 minutes. The German swimmer sustained her lead in the fourth round, while in the fifth round, she added an advantage of another second, becoming the top contender for the gold medal.
In the last 300 metres of the race, Isabelle cruised her way on the finishing wall as she gained a lead of almost five seconds in the sixth round and extended it to six seconds in the seventh round. In the last round, she claimed the crown with an undisputed effort of 8:34.83 minutes, staying 7.14 seconds ahead of her following swimmer.
The championships will continue for the next few days, to finalise the German team for the upcoming world titles.
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