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Florian Wellbrock training in Leipzig
Photo: RONNY HARTMANN / AFP
The "boomers" among the readers will still remember it.
School sports in Germany in the 1970s or 1980s: shivering children with blue lips, lined up in a queue in the swimming pool in front of the one.
Bathing suits that stick cold to the skin, the water feels like 15, the outside temperature maybe 14 degrees cold.
There were students who were discouraged from swimming in this way.
The successful swimmer Florian Wellbrock probably builds on such experiences when he criticizes the energy-saving reduction of water temperatures in swimming pools.
Inflation and rising energy prices have got the planners thinking, savings should be made everywhere.
According to experts, water that is just two degrees cooler in indoor swimming pools can result in energy savings of 25 percent.
Many spas have already lowered temperatures and closed their saunas.
However, the four-time swimming world champion Wellbrock fears unsightly side effects of the measure.
»Makes the body more susceptible to diseases«
“How do you teach a five or six-year-old to get in the deep end and have fun learning to swim?
In my opinion, that's not possible," said the 24-year-old in an interview with "Sport Bild": "The children will suffer from it.
This is a real problem.«
Colder water is therefore an obstacle for Wellbrock, who will be hunting for medals again at the upcoming European Championships in Rome this Thursday.
“The body then cools down and somehow tries to keep itself warm from the inside.
That draws energy unnecessarily, which I then lack for training.« In Magdeburg, where he trains, the water in the pool is 26.5 to 28 degrees.
Despite his little experience with outdoor pools, exceptional swimmer Wellbrock does not expect problems at the European Championships in Rome.
There the athletes will compete under the open sky in the Stadio del Nuoto in the Foro Italico.
In the 50-meter pool, which is known to be very fast, Paul Biedermann set his world records over 200 and 400 meters freestyle at the 2009 World Championships, which are still valid today.
According to Wellbrock, he first swam in a competition in an open-air pool.
But he's not worried: "In general, it's hot in the southern countries, and there can also be wind, which makes the water choppy.
That doesn't exist in the air-conditioned halls," said the 24-year-old of the dpa news agency.
»But as an open water swimmer, that doesn't bother me as much.
I can adapt relatively quickly to a wide variety of conditions, so I'm not worried."
ala/dpa
