Golden Martens for "Fun Track", medal for Wagner?
*Olympic Champion already, Lukas Maertens can now enjoy the Paris Games on his "fun track". For the swimmer, a medal is also possible over 200 meters backstroke. Germany's flag bearer Anna-Maria Wagner also hopes for a medal on the judo mat. And the track and field athletes are also getting started.
6:18 PM, Judo, Women: Anna-Maria Wagner has already won gold twice in the 78kg weight class at the World Championships. Now the 28-year-old from Ravensburg, who won bronze twice in Tokyo, wants to stand at the top in the Olympics. This would be the sporting pinnacle for the judoka who carried the German flag together with basketball star Dennis Schroeder at the opening ceremony.
The silver medal of Miriam Butkereit has already brought collective relief to the German Judo Federation. "We are incredibly happy. This also takes a lot of pressure off the team, including for Anna-Maria Wagner," said DJB Performance Director Hartmut Paulat.
7:30 AM, Athletics: The first medals will be awarded in walking. The men's 20km event is up first, followed by the women. Leo Koepp, Christopher Linke, and Saskia Feige will represent Germany. Linke is the most successful so far, winning silver at the European Championships in 2022, and finishing fifth at the Olympics in Rio and Tokyo, as well as at the World Championships last year. Can he make the podium this time? "I'm in very good shape, I would even say better than last year," said Linke. "I'm feeling good, I've trained very well. Let's see what happens."
9:30 AM/6:30 PM, Basketball, 3x3, Women: The DBB team has two games today. In the morning, they face Canada with Svenja Brunckhorst, Sonja Greinacher, Elisa Mevius, and Marie Reichert. In the evening, they play against Azerbaijan. They surprised everyone by winning against the USA in their opener, but lost to Australia on Wednesday. Nevertheless, the team remains optimistic. "We lost by two points today. We showed that we can play at world level. We beat the USA yesterday and rightfully won," said Brunckhorst. The top two teams in the group of eight advance directly to the semifinals, while teams placed 3rd to 6th play an extra round to determine the other two semifinalists.
11:00 AM, Basketball, Women: The German women's team's opening win against European champions Belgium has given them a lot of confidence. They aim for their second preliminary round win against Japan. Another win would secure their place in the quarterfinals and their trip to Paris.
However, it's still uncertain if Nyara Sabally will be able to play, "it's very doubtful," says head coach Lisa Thomaidis. The 24-year-old from WNBA club New York Liberty could not train with the team on Wednesday. Although she was present in the training hall Salles Maurice Herzog et Pierre Mazeaud in Lille, she only watched the session as a spectator after her minor concussion in the opening game against Belgium.
7 PM, Women's Handball: After a convincing win against Slovenia, the German team faces a tough challenge against Denmark, the 2019 World Championship bronze medalists. Coach Markus Gaugisch's team is the clear underdog, but he remains determined. "We don't want to wait for South Korea and Slovenia to play their remaining games. We want to secure our spot by beating Denmark, even though it won't be easy," he says. Key factors for success include "putting pressure on Denmark's powerful and physically dominant backs" and "matching their physicality in our own attack."
Germany currently has a 2-4 record after losses to South Korea (22:23) and Sweden (28:31), and a crucial win against Slovenia. Their final preliminary round match on Saturday (7 PM/CET, ZDF, Eurosport, and ntv.de live ticker) will be against reigning European champions Norway. The top four teams from the six-team group will advance to the quarterfinals.
8:37 PM: Men's 200m Backstroke Final: Olympic champion Lukas Martens swims confidently on his secondary event, the 200m backstroke, among the world's best. "I don't feel any pressure. A distance like this is fun, and being fourth isn't bad at all," the 22-year-old said after his surprising semi-final performance. Martens, who won Germany's first Olympic swimming gold in 36 years, enters the final with a chance. "Fourth place, and I don't even train this event every day. That's quite an achievement," he added.
Today's Broadcasts
ZDF will broadcast from 7 AM to midnight. Eurosport starts at 7 AM with "Bonjour Paris," with live broadcasts ending at 11 PM. Competitions will also be streamed individually on sportschau.de, zdf.de/sport, and the Discovery+ platform.
Today's Finals
Swimming
8:30 PM: Women's 200m Butterfly
9:04 PM: Women's 200m Breaststroke
9:49 PM: Women's 4x200m Freestyle
Rowing
11:18 AM: Women's Double Sculls Final
11:30 AM: Men's Double Sculls Final
11:50 AM: Women's Coxless Fours Final
12:10 PM: Men's Coxless Fours Final
Canoe Slalom
5:30 PM: Men's Kayak Single Final
Fencing
8:30 PM: Women's Team Foil Final
Shooting
9:30 AM: Men's 50m Rifle 3x40 Final
Sailing
2:43 PM: Men's 49er Medal Race
3:43 PM: Women's 49er FX Medal Race
Gymnastics
6:15 PM: Women's All-Around Final
Judo
5:38 PM: Men's +100kg Final
The Olympic Games 2024 in Paris is an exciting prospect for Lukas Maertens, as he aims to defend his title and potentially add a medal in the 200 meters backstroke. Anna-Maria Wagner, Germany's flag bearer at the opening ceremony, is also targeting a medal in her Judo event, looking to build on her World Championship and Olympic successes.
