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Germany's Liebmann smashes 1500m world record at European Championships

From CNA · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Germany's Johannes Liebmann shattered the men's 1500m world record at the European Aquatics Championships with a time of 14:26.79.
  • Liebmann's dominant performance was nearly four seconds faster than the previous record set by American Bobby Finke.
  • In a separate event, American Kate Douglass reclaimed the women's 50m freestyle world record.

Germany's Johannes Liebmann achieved a stunning world record in the men's 1500 meters at the European Aquatics Championships, clocking an incredible 14 minutes 26.79 seconds. The 19-year-old's performance obliterated the previous record by 3.88 seconds, a mark set by American Bobby Finke at the Paris Olympics two years prior.

I’m just amazed, the time is incredible. I didn’t think it was possible for me ... I’m just speechless.

— Johannes LiebmannExpressing his disbelief and elation after breaking the world record.

Liebmann's victory made him the first man to complete the distance in under 14 minutes and 30 seconds. "I'm just amazed, the time is incredible. I didn't think it was possible for me... I'm just speechless," Liebmann told Olympics.com. He described the race as challenging, having planned a fast start to separate himself from competitors and swim his own race.

The race was hard. I started fast, it was planned to just get rid of the others to swim my own race. Halfway through the race, I saw I was way ahead of the others, and I felt good.

— Johannes LiebmannDescribing his race strategy and how he felt during the 1500m event.

"Halfway through the race, I saw I was way ahead of the others, and I felt good," Liebmann recalled. He noted the crowd's reaction in the final meters spurred him on. "When I saw the crowd standing, I knew probably a European record, maybe a world record, but I thought it was close," he admitted, adding that the final 100 meters were tough but seeing the 14:26 time was "incredible."

I guess in the last 200 or 300 metres, I saw the crowd standing up, and it just gave me another burst of power.

— Johannes LiebmannRecounting the crowd's impact on his final push.

In another record-breaking moment, American swimmer Kate Douglass reclaimed the women's 50 meters freestyle world record. She achieved this with a time of 23.49 seconds during the preliminaries at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships held in Irvine, California.

When I saw the crowd standing, I knew probably a European record, maybe a world record, but I thought it was close, so I was a bit over-thinking it, and the last 100 metres were so hard, but then just seeing the 14:26 is incredible.

— Johannes LiebmannReflecting on his realization of potentially breaking a world record during the race.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CNA in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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