Germany's Maertens set new world record in men's 400m freestyle

Paris: At the Stockholm Open on Saturday, Germany’s Lukas Maertens set a new world record in the men’s 400-meter freestyle, surpassing a mark that had stood since 2009.

The 23-year-old clocked in at 3 minutes 39.96 seconds, beating the previous record of 3:40.07 held by fellow German Paul Biedermann, which was set at the 2009 World Championships in Rome using a now-banned polyurethane swimsuit, TNIE reported.

Maertens, who won Olympic gold in the event at the Paris Games last year with a time of 3:41.78, had previously recorded a personal best of 3:40.33 at the 2024 German championships.