- The final act of the women's doubles is a coup d'état.
At the end of the impressive final sprint, emotions ran high. Louder even than the victorious British team, the women's double scull celebrated their unusual coup and the win of the bronze medal. In a seemingly hopeless situation, the crew led by strokewoman Pia Greiten (Osnabrück) mobilized their last strengths and were rewarded. Suddenly, all the sacrifices of the past weeks were forgotten: "It was all worth it, everything we put into this. The whole deprivation, the heavy hours. It feels fantastic," raved Tabea Schendekehl from Dortmund with a beaming smile.
The dream of Olympic metal seemed to have burst at the halfway point of the race. Both at the 500 and 1000-meter mark, the European Championship bronze medalist was in last place. But the way the crew reacted and slowly worked their way forward stroke by stroke, even Thomas Weikert was amazed. The end of the two-day wait for a German medal brought relief to the DOSB president. "After the two golds, this is a good restart, that we're back in the game now," he said, hoping for a spark and further successes.
Earlier final sprint provides new energy
Bowwoman Maren Voelz from Berlin gave the command for the final sprint shortly after the halfway point, looking at the seemingly fleeing competition. The unusually long effort paid off in the end because the Ukraine, in third place, had to pay tribute to the high starting pace. "When you feel you're catching up, you're pushing forward, there's an extra boost," commented strokewoman Greiten on the final gallop over the 30-kilometer lake east of Paris.
Thus, the DRV continued the tradition in the medal-rich boat class. Already in Rio 2016 (gold), London 2012 (silver), and Beijing 2008 (bronze), the German women's double scull had won podium places. Nevertheless, it was not to be expected that the trump card would work this time. Even at the Olympic trial in May on the Lucerne Rotsee, the team had to settle for fourth place. But the return of Schendekehl, who had injured her ribs in the weight room before the season started, brought more speed - and in the end, bronze.
Men's double scull goes empty-handed
The men's double scull remained without a medal. The hopes created by the convincing victory in the repechage two days earlier that they could interfere in the fight for metal proved to be wishful thinking. In the end, there was only the fifth place, far behind the Olympic winner from the Netherlands. Nevertheless, crew member Tim Ole Naske (Hamburg) was proud of the final participation: "The dream didn't come true. But after a really very up-and-down season with more lows than highs, we've put on a great finish here."
The women's double scull's victory in the Olympic Games bronze medal match marked a significant moment in their tradition of success, adding another podium finish to their record from Rio 2016, London 2012, and Beijing 2008.
Despite the men's double scull not winning a medal at the Olympic Games, crew member Tim Ole Naske still saw value in their performance, stating that their final participation was a great finish to a challenging season filled with more lows than highs.
