Doping cheat Kohler snatches Olympia-Bronze
Olympic Champion Lukas Märtens reaches final again, Angelina Köhler misses a medal. Fourth place has a bitter taste. Swimmer Léon Marchand creates an emotional peak in La Défense Arena.
Lukas Märtens crawled after his tearful gold coup and a short night into the next Olympic final, but for Angelina Köhler, the medal dream burst in Paris - because of a Chinese doping offender. In front of 17,000 spectators in the Rugby Stadium La Defense, the World Champion finished fourth over 100 meters Butterfly. 21 hundredths of a second were missing for bronze, which Zhang Yufei took away. The 26-year-old belongs to the eleven swimmers and swimmers who were allowed to start despite positive tests.
The 23-year-old Berlinerin Köhler, who catapulted herself into the spotlight with her WM triumph in Katar in February, wept bitter tears after her first Olympic final. "Fourth is always the first loser, that's a little crappy", Köhler said into the ZDF microphone. For Zhang, a banned heart medication was detected before the Olympics in Tokyo, but there was no ban, because allegedly contaminated food in a hotel was the cause. There are now doubts about that. "Such stories have a nasty taste", Köhler later said: "I hope that there will still be clarification, that something will come out. I stand for clean sport and for justice."
An hour later, Melvin Imoudu finished only six hundredths of a second away from a medal in the final over 100 meters Breaststroke. The German record holder finished fourth - a hair's breadth behind the silver medalists Adam Peaty (Great Britain) and Nic Fink (USA). Lucas Matzerath followed closely behind in fifth place.
"Had to make sure I somehow got to bed"
Märtens, however, had another chance for a medal after finishing fourth in the semifinals over 200 meters Freestyle on Monday evening. Despite his historic victory over double the distance on Saturday evening, he found little time to rest and enjoy. "Two to three hours were there, a little nap", the first German swimming Olympic champion in the pool since 1988 laughed, after he had gone back into the pool only 14 hours later.
He didn't even get to celebrate the historic triumph over 400 meters Freestyle "unfortunately", reported Märtens, "it was really late, and I had to make sure I somehow got to bed." The alarm rang at seven, and by eleven, the Magdeburger was already in the pool for the preliminary heat.
"It's not over yet"
No time for celebration - "I'll pick that up for later", said Märtens. The German shooting star, who ended the long drought of men's Olympic gold since Albatros Michael Groß's gold in 1988, still has a lot to do in Paris. He is also ranked second on the World Year-End List over 200 meters. "It's not over yet. I have the chance for one or another medal. I have to make sure I get some sleep."
Local matador Léon Marchand caused quite a spectacle meanwhile, as he was crowned the Olympic champion and set the arena buzzing with emotion. World record holder Marchand secured his victory in the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:02.95 minutes, leaving Tomoyuki Matsushita of Japan and Carson Foster from the USA far behind. For the 22-year-old, it was his first Olympic win of his career. In 2023, he had broken the 15-year-old world record of swimming legend Michael Phelps at the World Championships in Fukuoka.
Long before Marchand's race, loud "León, León" chants echoed through the arena. The atmosphere was reminiscent of a football stadium. Thousands of fans sang the French national anthem. As Marchand went to the starting block, the spectators cheered their star with deafening "Allez León" chants. The exceptional swimmer allowed himself to be celebrated later with raised arms. In Marchand's grand triumph, Cédric Bußing finished eighth. In 4:11.52 minutes, the 20-year-old, who represents SG Essen, had set a German record in the morning heats. In the final, Bußing finished with a time of 4:17.16 minutes.
Despite the Chinese doping offender ruining Angelina Köhler's chance at an Olympia-Bronze in the 100-meter Butterfly final, she maintained her integrity and stood for clean sport, expressing doubts about Zhang Yufei's excuse.
Following her historic World Championship triumph in Katar in February, Köhler finished fourth by a narrow margin in the Olympic final, prompting her to eloquently express the sentiment that "fourth is always the first loser."
