The opening day of the Swimming World Cup 2023 was nothing short of chaos and disappointment. The swimming fans were unhappy with the exorbitant ticket prices for entering the Schwimm-und Sprunghalle in Europa-Sportpark. Those who did splurge on themselves were disappointed by the performances of their favorite stars. Many legendary athletes underperformed on October 6, day 1 of the event who had earlier promised exciting competition. Now, as things worsen, one German swimmer abandoned his World Cup bid due to a mysterious illness. 

Lukas Martens bowed out of the Swimming World Cup after his morning heats yesterday. He reported feeling a sudden illness take over his body that resurrected memories of Katie Ledecky feeling the same way at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju. She reported feeling under the weather after losing the 400-meter bid to Australian Ariarne Titmus. She walked away from the 1500-meter freestyle race leaving her rivals to clinch her crown. In a similar manner, Lukas Martens left his contention midway on Friday but he wasn’t the only home name to feel the sudden chills.

Two German legends fell sick after opening day of Swimming World Cup 2023

State Of Swimming.com reported the bizarre incident on an X post that read, “Lukas Martens out of World Cup in Berlin after morning heats suffering from the cold-like bug that caused his teammate and training partner Florian Wellbrock to drop out of the meet #SWC2023”. The German team’s head coach Bernd Berkhan also relayed the unhappy news to the media. Lukas Martens had a fourth-place finish at the 400-meter freestyle heats and was looking forward to the finals. However, he could not compete for the home team losing out on a major opportunity.

His teammate the 10K world title holder Florian Wellbrock, was also struck by the same condition. Coach Berkhan confirmed that Wellbrock is recovering, but he, too, could not appear for the final race in the evening. The news of their strange illness spread like wildfire as the German fans lost two big contenders in one fell swoop. Martens ended the heats at 3:50.61 and was poised for a dominant performance in the evening, especially considering his track record in the discipline. 

Lukas Martens’ hopes derailed

Lukas Martens had phenomenal success in the 400-meter freestyle last year. He won a silver medal at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest and also a gold at the European Games in Rome. This year he delivered some amazing speeds in the 200-meter, 400-meter, and 1500-meter freestyle events at the Fukuoka World Championships. His best performance in Japan was in the 400-meter freestyle, where he won a bronze medal. 

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Given his trajectory in the 400-meter freestyle, he would have been a force to be reckoned with at the finals. The fans were upset by the news and are waiting eagerly to hear about his health update. With the 2024 Paris Olympics looming in the background, they don’t want to lose out on such a promising candidate for the gold. 

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