The German swimmer touched the wall in a time of 3:41.78 to finish ahead of Australian silver medalist Elijah Winnington and South Korean bronze winner Kim Woo-min at Paris’ La Defense Arena.
The 22-year-old Magdeburg native entered the race with the fastest time this year and converted on the biggest stage to become the first German to win Olympic gold in the event since Uwe Dassler did so for East Germany at the 1988 Games in Seoul. In fact, it was Germany’s first gold medal in an Olympic pool since Britta Steffen’s double triumph in Beijing in 2008.
Märtens had already established himself among the world’s best in recent years, having taken medals at the 2022, 2023 and 2024 World Championships.
Germany’s first medalist in Paris won’t have much of a chance to celebrate his victory, though, as he will be back in the pool on Sunday morning for his preliminary heat in the 200-meter freestyle, an event in which he is also a favorite to capture a medal.
Later at the Games, he is also scheduled to compete in the 200-meter backstroke and with Germany’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay team.
