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Budapest (dpa) - For double world champion Florian Wellbrock it is the great Olympic endurance test in open water, for breaststroke swimmer Marco Koch a welcome form check at an international level.
From this Monday on, pool swimmers, open water aces, water divers and synchronized swimmers will compete for medals at the European Championships in Budapest.
The competitions on the Danube are both an opportunity and a challenge for German athletes: On the one hand, in times with only a few competitions due to corona, they are a good international comparison option.
On the other hand, they often do not fit into the preparation concept a good two months before the Summer Games.
Title hopefuls Wellbrock has found the right compromise for himself.
The 23-year-old wants to start as a ten-kilometer world champion in Lake Lupa, but he skips the pool competitions under the roof of the Duna Arena.
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In open water, where not only your own time is important but also assertiveness in a direct duel, racing practice is extremely important. Correspondingly, Wellbrock's strong opponents such as the World Cup runner-up Marc-Antoine Olivier from France and the Italian Gregorio Paltrinieri use the opportunity to test their strengths. Leonie Beck and Rob Muffels from the German Swimming Association are two other Olympic starters. Finnia Wunram canceled at short notice. "Budapest enables us to carry out an important location check before we start the preparation phase for Tokyo," said pool swimming team boss Bernd Berkhahn, who trains Wellbrock in Magdeburg.
In the pool, on the other hand, like Wellbrock, most of the other DSV top athletes forego an EM start - the former world champion Marco Koch is an exception.
The 22-person team includes ten athletes for whom the event is the first major event on the long track.
"It is important that our young people gain this international experience with a view to the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024," said team coach Hannes Vitense.
"The European Championships are an excellent opportunity for this."
Since other nations have their final Olympic qualification at the European Championships, the swimmers have to deal with established opponents.
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Diver divers, for whom the onward journey to Hungary was imminent after successfully qualifying for the Olympics in Tokyo, will also meet them.
There, the team around record European champion Patrick Hausding wants to fight for the medals and continue to work on the form for the Olympic Games.
The appearance of the German synchronized swimmers will also be exciting.
The new duet Marlene Bojer and Michelle Zimmer wants to present itself well on the international stage on the Danube and then secure the Olympic ticket in Barcelona in June.
Germany was last represented in synchronized swimming at the Rings Spectacle in 1992.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210507-99-505181 / 3