By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam
2026 MALMSTEN SWIM OPEN STOCKHOLM
Thursday, April 9th – Sunday, April 12th Prelims at 9:30am local (3:30am ET)/Finals at 6pm local (Noon ET) Stockholm, Sweden LCM (50m) SwimSwam Preview Meet Central Entries Live Results Day 1 Recap Day 2 RecapNineteen-year-old German Johannes Liebmann put on a show in the men’s 1500 freestyle on the second night of the 2026 Malmsten Swim Open Stockholm.
Liebmann threw down a time of 14:39.67 to get the job done in a tightly-fought battle with runner-up Oliver Klemet. 24-year-old Klemet ultimately touched just over two seconds later in essentially a two-man race, with 2020 Olympic champion Florian Wellbrock well behind in 15:15.79 for the bronze.
Liebmann sat on Klemet’s hip, taking a brief one one-hundredth second lead at the 1000m turn before taking control of the race at the 1200.
Liebmann’s result obliterated his previous lifetime best of 14:53.15 from last year’s European Junior Championships, where he earned silver behind winner Kuzey Tuncelli of Turkey (14:45.05).
He’s been on a steady improvement curve, going 15:04 in 2024 before dropping just over ten seconds last year, but tonight he truly took things to another level. With his swim, Liebmann shoots up the all-time performers list to No. 17, becoming just the 17th man in history to break 14:40, and jumps from sixth to fourth in the German national rankings.
Updated All-Time Sub-14:40 List:
Bobby Finke (USA) — 14:30.67, 2024 Olympic Games Sun Yang (CHN) — 14:31.02, 2012 Olympic Games Ahmed Hafnaoui (TUN) — 14:31.54, World Aquatics Championships Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) — 14:32.80, World Aquatics Championships Daniel Wiffen (IRL) — 14:34.07, World Aquatics Championships Ahmed Jaouadi (TUN) — 14:34.41, World Aquatics Championships Grant Hackett (AUS) — 14:34.56, World Championships Florian Wellbrock (GER) — 14:34.89, Berlin Swim Open Sven Schwarz (GER) — 14:35.69, World Aquatics Championships Mykhailo Romanchuk (UKR) — 14:36.10, European Aquatics Championships Oussama Mellouli (TUN) — 14:37.28, World Championships Sam Short (AUS) — 14:37.28, World Aquatics Championships Oliver Klemet (GER) — 14:39.03, German Nationals Connor Jaeger (USA) — 14:39.48, 2016 Olympic Games Mack Horton (AUS) — 14:39.54, 2016 Olympic Trials Ryan Cochrane (CAN) — 14:39.63, 2012 Olympic Games Johannes Liebmann (GER) — 14:39.67, 2026 Malmsten Swim Open*Additionally, Liebmann eclipsed the German age-group record for 19-year-olds, beating Lukas Maertens‘ former 2021 mark by nearly ten seconds.
Liebmann is now just the fifth under-20 swimmer to break 14:40 (and he only turned 19 three weeks ago), joining Sun Yang, who clocked 14:35.43 at 18 in 2010; Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri, who swam 14:39.93 at 19 in 2014; Mack Horton of Australia, who went 14:39.54 at 19 in 2016; and fellow Australian Sam Short, who swam 14:37.28 at 19 in 2023.
Liebmann is the latest sensation on a conveyor belt of elite distance talent out of Magdeburg, Germany. The head coach there, Bernd Berkhahn, has guided the likes of Maertens, Sarah Wellbrock (née Köhler), Sharon van Rouwendaal, Moesha Johnson, Florian Wellbrock, and Isabel Gose across middle-distance and open water events over the past decade, and continues to churn out new talent.
Last July, Liebmann grabbed silver in the 400 free (3:49.27) and 1500 free (14:53.15) and bronze in the 800 free (7:54.09) at the European Junior Championships, before going on to take fourth in the 1500 (15:04.40), sixth in the 800 (7:54.83), and seventh in the 400 (3:49.27) at the World Junior Championships six weeks later. More recently, he twice broke the short course 800 free world junior record at the European Short Course Championships this past December, clocking 7:30.94 in prelims before hitting a slightly swifter 7:30.47 in the final, while also taking fourth in the 400 free (3:37.29) and 11th in the 1500 free (14:36.21), his time in the 400 making him the second-fastest junior in history.
Earlier in the meet, Liebmann shattered his 400 free best as well, dropping nearly two seconds to 3:46.84 in prelims before popping 3:44.59 for runner-up in the final. His current 800 free best of 7:50.86 appears to be in grave danger when he lines up for that event to close out the competition.
Liebmann currently leads the 1500 German qualification rankings for the 2026 European Championships, though final roster spots won’t be awarded until after the German Championships in Berlin (April 23–26). World Championship silver medalist Sven Schwarz, meanwhile, won’t enter competition until next week’s Berlin Swim Open, but barring a massive surprise breakthrough from someone there, Liebmann is looking safe for a spot on the team.
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