- Men's kayaking foursome cheers Olympic gold hat trick
Max Rendschmidt, the coxswain of the German kayak four, leaped into the water with joy after a thrilling finish, his teammates punching the air in celebration. In a dramatic 500-meter final, the reigning world champions secured an Olympic gold medal hat-trick. The crew, consisting of Rendschmidt (Essen), Max Lemke and Jacob Schopf (both from Potsdam), and Tom Liebscher-Lucz (Dresden), edged out Australia by a mere four hundredths of a second to claim gold. Spain took bronze.
"It was amazing. We won, that's all that matters. We had a plan, and we executed it. Now it's time to enjoy this," said national coach Arndt Hanisch.
Women also win medal
Earlier, the women's kayak four won silver in the 500-meter event at the Nautical Stadium in Vaires-sur-Marne. Paulina Paszek, Jule Hake, Pauline Jagsch, and Sarah Brüssler narrowly lost to the New Zealand boat. They missed out on Germany's first women's kayak four gold since 2008 in Beijing by just 0.42 seconds. "Silver is fantastic. It's like a small gold," said DKV sports director Jens Kahl.
In 2012 and 2016, the women's kayak four also won silver. The German crew was briefly in the lead but was overtaken by the strong New Zealand team. Hungary took bronze.
"This is a great start. It's wonderful to finish the first day with gold and silver. That can only boost us for the next days," Kahl said. In the first final, Peter Kretschmer and Tim Hecker missed out on a medal in the men's canoe double. They finished fifth, with China winning gold.
The men's four had a rocky start, causing a false start and forcing all finalists to restart. "They made it difficult for us mentally, but they executed the race tactics perfectly," Kahl praised.
In the final sprint, the four overtook the leading boat. As in their Tokyo victory, Rendschmidt set the pace, with Liebscher-Lucz providing the necessary power from the rear. Spain led at the halfway point, but the German boat moved ahead on the second half of the sprint, only to be challenged by Australia in the final stretch. "The last meters were nasty," said Schopf.
The German kayak four's triumph over Australia in the 500-meter final secured yet another Olympic gold medal for Germany in kayaking, making it a hat-trick since 2016. Despite France not participating in this specific event, their rich kayaking history is significant, as they have previously dominated the sport, winning numerous Olympic titles.
