Yannick Lebherz earns Men's 400m IM title: Day one – German SC Nationals
Yannick Lebherz of DSW 1912 Darmstadt earned gold medal of Men's 400m Individual Medley (IM) on the opening day of the 2011 German Short Course Nationals on Thursday, November 24 in Wuppertal.
The 22-year-old Lebherz followed the lead of Tim Wallburger of SG Meukolln Berlin in the initial 100 meters of the race. Wallburger completed his first two rounds in a time of 56.71 seconds and remained 0.14 seconds ahead of Lebherz's 56.85 seconds.
Nevertheless, the 22-year-old demonstrated his gruelling efforts in the following two rounds of the swim, where he gained a lead of 4.69 seconds over Wallburger.
Lebherz completed his initial half of the race in a top ranked time of 1 minute and 57.31 seconds. With his impeccable efforts, he overwhelmed 22-year-old Wallburger, who covered the same distance in a time of 2 minutes and 02.00 seconds.
Subsequently, Lebherz strengthened his position in the next two rounds, where he completed his 300 meters of the race in a time of 3 minutes and 08.30 seconds. He managed a lead of 5.83 seconds over Wallburger, who submitted a time of 3 minutes and 14.13
seconds for the equivalent distance.
In the final two rounds, Lebherz displayed his astonishing skills and reached the finishing wall in a gold winning time of 4 minutes and 05.26 seconds. With his title wining effort, he failed to improve his own German record of 4 minutes and 05.08 seconds
with a difference of only 0.18 seconds.
Similarly, his effort remained 7.99 seconds slower than the European mark of 3 minutes and 57.27 seconds, made by Laszlo Cseh of Hungary in 2009. He also remained nearly 10 seconds slower from lowerig the world record of 3 minutes and 55.50 seconds made
by USA's Ryan Lochte in 2010.
The gold medallist was trailed by Wallburger, who earned silver medal of the event in a time of 4 minutes and 10.09 seconds. He was chased by Lukasz Wojt of SG Frankfurt, who claimed bronze medal of the race by reporting a time of 4 minutes and 12.64 seconds.
The session concluded after the completion of all events while the winners were awarded accolades after the completion of session.
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