HEIDTMANN Jacob

General
MOVING TO THE UNITED STATES
In September 2019 he moved to San Diego, CA, United States of America, to train with David Marsh's Team Elite group, alongside fellow German swimmer Marius Kusch. "I can train [in San Diego] with the best in the world. I am at the best age for swimming and decided to put all my eggs in one basket. I am using all my savings, which were intended for the time after university graduation, but I have not regretted it. Since moving, I have achieved times that are close to my German record." (kn-online.de, 25 Mar 2020; sport.de 15 Nov 2019)

RIO DISQUALIFICATION FUELS TOKYO DREAM
He was disqualified from the final of the 400m individual medley at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro following a turn violation during the breaststroke leg. "I am very much looking forward to rewriting my Olympic Games chapter [in 2020]. Of course, it's still in there somewhere in my head that I was disqualified after qualifying in fifth [for the final] at Rio 2016. Even though I still think that I was wrongly disqualified at the time, the fact that the final was taken away motivated me. But I'm totally positive and I'm not afraid, I've never been disqualified since. I've put all my eggs in one basket this year [2020], used all my savings to train with Dave Marsh in San Diego, then qualified as fifth German onto the team with the second best time in the world this year for my Tokyo ticket. So, I'm back where I was four years ago, on the way and at the best age." (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 07 Mar 2020, 24 Mar 2020; dw.com, 07 Aug 2016; kn-online.de, 25 Mar 2020; sport.de 15 Nov 2019)