KIT University Sports Swimmers at the DHM in Erfurt

Since the championships this year are considered a qualification for the Universiade, the Olympics of the universities, the sporting level was correspondingly high. Nevertheless, the swimmers from Karlsruhe were able to achieve the best team result in recent history.

On May 24, the 37 competitive swimmers set off from the Sports Institute. The bad weather on the day of departure could not dampen the good mood in the team and that of the bus driver. After a short detour via Heidelberg, both university teams reached their destination, the Roland-Matthes swimming hall in Erfurt, after a relaxed journey.
The start of the competition was delayed by more than an hour, but this did not dampen the anticipation of the cold water.

With a total of 37 participants, the Karlsruhe swimmers provided the largest contingent of participants.
The competition started with 200 meters freestyle. Marleen and Sarah reached here a placement under the top 20 in Germany, which is an outstanding achievement regarding the considerable competition. The other girls also showed good performances. In the men's event, Hector also achieved a place among the top 20, which is a very good performance with a winning time of only ten seconds above the current world record of Paul Biedermann. In the following relays over 4x100 meters freestyle, 6x50 meters butterfly mixed and 6x50 meters freestyle mixed, the Karlsruhe representation was able to achieve TOP 10 placements thanks to the balanced team strength, in addition to the phenomenal fifth place of the women over 4x100 freestyle!
An outstanding performance!

The second day of competition began with the 100 meters freestyle, which everyone had been longing for. Here Dominik could fight for the 20th place in a high class field despite not optimal preparation due to his studies. He confirmed his good performance in the relay the day before. Annika and Claudia faced one of the most exhausting races in the following 200 meters breaststroke.
Both achieved a very good time for them personally. The following 50 meters backstroke held a big surprise. Olympic participant Jan-Philip Glania, who competed for the University of Frankfurt, qualified confidently for the evening final, which he won as expected. In the 50-meter butterfly, Sabine also qualified for the final, which she finished in a good sixth place on Sunday.
In the last section of the day more finals took place. Sabine reached a good, but for her annoying fourth place in the 50 meters breaststroke. In the 4x100 meter medley relay, the women finished fifth and the men swam to position twelve in a strong field. The men's second team showed a respectable result with an 18th place, beating some first teams from other universities. In the 6x50 backstroke and breaststroke mixed relays, the Karlsruhe swimmers finished tenth and fifth.
A very nice end of the competition day.

On Sunday, the last day of competition, there were still some interesting distances on the program. The 50 meter freestyle, the only Olympic 50 meter distance, made the beginning. Here Simon Hengel competed for the first time, qualified for the final and finished it with a fifth place.
A highlight of the competition was Saskia's third place in the 200 meter butterfly. In an exciting race, she was still in fourth place after 100 meters, but then was able to show off her stamina in the second hundred meters and fought her way to third place. However, she had to pay tribute to her enormous performance in the following 400 meters freestyle, but still achieved a very good time. Hector had also entered this very intense distance and confirmed his good training performance with a seventh place.
In the final section Sabine again achieved an annoying fourth place over 100 meters breaststroke, although she had improved her preliminary time by three seconds. In the 50-meter butterfly final that followed, she achieved a sixth-place finish despite the performance she had shown earlier, thus also contributing to the overall good performance of the Karlsruhe swimmers.

After a strenuous weekend and an exhausting bus ride, the Karlsruhe swimmers reached their beloved fan city in the evening in pouring rain.

The Karlsruhe swimmers can look back on a very successful weekend. The team spirit was further strengthened and the new team members can tell at home about the great and unique experiences of a DHM. The intensive preparation and the high willingness to perform have paid off - to be seen in the great results of the individual swimmers and the team!
The whole swim team is already looking forward to the DHM next year in Bayreuth.