Only twice bronze – now Gose even swims to silver at the World Championships

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Isabel Gose on the way to silver at the World Championships

Photo: Sebastien Bozon / AFP

Isabel Gose won the silver medal in the 800 meter freestyle at the World Swimming Championships in Qatar. The 21-year-old clocked 8:17.53 minutes in Doha on Saturday. She was only beaten by world champion Simona Quadarella from Italy by nine hundredths of a second. For Gose it was already the third precious metal in the title fights in the Aspire Dome. She won bronze in the 400 and 1500 meter freestyle.

Gose secured the German team their fifth medal at this World Cup. Angelina Köhler was crowned world champion in the 100 meter butterfly. Lukas Märtens won bronze in the 400 meter freestyle. The German team last won more medals at the 2009 World Championships in Rome. Back then, the guarantors of success were still called Britta Steffen and Paul Biedermann.

Gose, who trains in Magdeburg with national long-distance coach Bernd Berkhahn, had been working towards her first World Cup medal for a long time. Now she could look forward to three. The Berlin native took advantage of the extraordinary opportunity of the first World Cup in the year of the Olympic Games in the Emirate. She also benefited from the fact that outstanding middle and long-distance swimmers were not there during the preparations for the Olympics. Among those missing were seven-time Olympic champion Katie Ledecky from the USA and Ariarne Titmus from Australia.

aha/dpa