Germany moves open-water swimming centre from Würzburg to Munich

Germany’s national open-water swimming training centre will move from Würzburg to Munich on January 1, 2027, after a period of declining results and damage to the Würzburg site’s image, BR reported.

The German Swimming Association said the Federal Chancellery had approved its application to relocate the centre. The move is taking place exceptionally during an ongoing Olympic cycle. The Würzburg location had only been extended in December 2024 until the end of 2028.

For many years, the centre was based at SV Würzburg 05, where swimmers including Thomas Lurz, Leonie Beck and Lea Boy achieved international success. Lurz, who is president of the club, confirmed the decision and said it did not come as a surprise.

Harald Walter, president of the Bavarian Swimming Association, welcomed the move. He said the main reason was the lack of recent success and that fewer top athletes had recently trained at SV Würzburg 05, leaving the squad too small.

Walter also said the club’s image had suffered after allegations of abuse involving its long-serving coach Stefan Lurz. In 2022, Stefan Lurz accepted a suspended sentence. The situation had contributed to Würzburg becoming what Walter called a “cold training centre”.

SV Würzburg 05 currently has no competitor at the European Swimming Championships in Paris. Würzburg swimmer Lea Boy withdrew after suffering a gastrointestinal illness. She won two bronze medals at last year’s championships, while Leonie Beck paused her career after the 2024 Olympic Games.

Lurz said losing national training-centre status would not threaten SV Würzburg 05 financially. The club has about 2,200 members, and the centre had received annual federal funding in the five-figure range.

The new national open-water swimming centre is expected to be based at SG Stadtwerke München, which already hosts a Bavarian Swimming Association state training centre. Walter said the decision was in the athletes’ interests and welcomed the fact that Bavaria would retain a national centre.

The German Swimming Association also operates six national training centres for pool swimming, in Berlin, Essen, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Magdeburg and Potsdam.