Lukas Maertens kicked off the 2024 German Swimming Championships in impressive fashion with a personal best performance in the men’s 400 freestyle. The German swimmer posted a time of 3:40.33, which is currently the fastest time in the World this season. This time placed him ahead of Australian swimmers Elijah Winnington and Sam Short, who previously held the top two spots with times of 3:41.41 and 3:41.64 respectively.
Maertens had previously been ranked #4 in the World this season after swimming a 3:42.96 at the 2024 World Championships in Doha back in February. His performance at the German Championships not only marked a new personal best but also positioned him as a serious contender for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
While Maertens has made significant strides in the 400 freestyle event, he has been a consistent presence on the podium at major competitions in recent years. Winning bronze in both the 2023 and 2024 World Championships, as well as silver in 2022, Maertens has shown steady improvement. However, his performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was less successful as he failed to advance to the final.
In addition to being the fastest time in the World this season, Maertens’ time in the 400 freestyle was also just shy of Paul Biedermann’s World Record of 3:40.
