Canoe party at the Olympics: men's foursome wins gold-gathering crime
Medal deluge for the German canoe fleet: In a thrilling final, the men's kayak four wins gold. For the women, it's silver in the same boat class. Another duo leaves empty-handed and announces their split.
The two kayak fours struck gold and silver on the first day of decisions for the Olympic canoeists in Paris. The men's world champion crew stormed to victory in a dramatic 500m final, edging out Australia by just four hundredths of a second. Max Rendschmidt, Max Lemke, Jacob Schopf, and Tom Liebscher-Lucz took gold, with Spain claiming bronze.
Earlier, the women's kayak four won silver over 500m at the Nautical Stadium in Vaires-sur-Marne. Paulina Paszek, Jule Hake, Pauline Jagsch, and Sarah Brüssler narrowly missed out on gold, finishing just 0.42 seconds behind New Zealand. This would have been the first Olympic gold for a German women's crew in this event since 2008 in Beijing.
German boat secures gold in final sprint
As in their Tokyo triumph, stroke man Rendschmidt set the pace, with the experienced crew paddling at 140 strokes per minute. Liebscher-Lucz provided the necessary power from the back, having moved up from third position in Rio to fourth in Tokyo. Spain led at the halfway point, but the German boat surged ahead on the second half of the sprint, only to be challenged by Australia in the final stretch.
The women's kayak four had previously won silver in London 2012 and Rio 2016. Despite leading at one point, they were overtaken by New Zealand in the final stages, with Hungary taking bronze.
Before that, Peter Kretschmer and Tim Hecker missed out on a medal in the men's canoe double (C2), finishing fifth. China won gold. After the race, the duo announced their retirement from the sport.
The German canoe team continued their success at the Olympic Games with a gold and silver finish in the kayak four events. Their men's team triumphed in the final, securing the gold medal in a thrilling race against Australia.
Following their silver victory in London 2012 and Rio 2016, the German women's kayak four team once again reached the podium at the Olympic Games in Paris, this time claiming the second place.
