2024-02-12 17:23:00
After the race of her life, Angelina Köhler only managed to say a few words before tears welled up in her eyes.
“So crazy,” the new swimming world champion shouted into the microphone following her gold coup at the edge of the pool, “my parents are here.”
Then her voice failed and the 23-year-old had to support herself on both knees.
When she finished first in the World Cup final of the 100 m butterfly in the Aspire Dome in Doha following 56.28 seconds, the Berliner mightn’t hold back her tears.
She shook her head in disbelief, held her hand over her mouth in disbelief, and only then raised her fist in celebration.
Köhler: “I’ve dreamed of this since I was a child”
“I can’t process what just happened. I’m shaking all over. I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a child,” said the first German female pool world champion in 15 years, who also secured her ticket to the Olympic Games Paris solved.
Most recently, Britta Steffen won women’s World Cup gold in the 50 and 100 m freestyle pool for Germany in Rome in 2009.
Köhler’s victory, as emotional as it was, no longer came as a surprise on Monday: with two German records in the preliminary round and in the semi-finals, she had swum into the role of favorite – and in the final, she gave the American Claire Curzan no chance in front of the Swede Louise Hansson.
Taylor Swift as a warm-up for the finale
Köhler got in the mood with Taylor Swift. Before the start, she sat in the call room with headphones on, sang along to “Cruel Summer” at the top of her lungs and imitated her beloved pop star.
“That’s my favorite song,” she reported, “I always really go crazy with it. It takes away the excitement and gives me the power until the end.”
Isabel Gose, who had celebrated bronze the evening before, didn’t seem quite as happy.
However, the 400 m race “really stuck in her bones,” explained the Magdeburg native following she moved into the final of the 1500 m freestyle on Tuesday as second in the preliminary heat in 16:10.60 minutes.
Matzerath clearly misses the podium
“It was solid, but a bit too strenuous for the time,” admitted Gose: “Now just regenerate for a day and then attack once more.” The European champion hasn’t had time to celebrate her first World Cup medal yet: “This morning I was on the phone with my mom on the bus, I really have to take time for all the news.”
Lucas Matzerath clearly missed the podium in the first race of the evening. The 23-year-old from Frankfurt came seventh in the 100 m breaststroke final in 59.37 seconds and thus missed the Paris ticket for the time being.
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