Competitions in Poznan
Posen (dpa) – Shivering instead of encouraging. Oliver Zeidler averted an early end at the European rowing championships in Poznan with great difficulty.
In a hard-fought semi-final, the 24-year-old world and European champion had to admit defeat to the Danish Sverri Nielsen and the Greek Stefanos Ntouskos, but defended third place in a show of strength in the last meters. «I have a bit of the Corona crisis and am not at 100 percent. But on Sunday there is another chance to pull the cart out of the mud, ”he commented hoping for an increase in performance in the final.
At least Zeidler crossed the finish line ahead of Amos Keijser from the Netherlands, unlike his defeat on Friday. But that could only improve the mood to a limited extent. After a steady upward trend in his still young rowing career, the form curve of the former competitive swimmer is pointing down for the first time. The long break from competitions in the season overshadowed by the corona pandemic brought him out of his rhythm according to his own assessment: “Two and a half months ago I was in a better mood and also faster. The time of year makes it easy. We don’t actually race in October. “
Unlike Zeidler, Pia Greiten have a good chance of winning precious metals. As on Friday with her surprising preliminary victory over world champion Sanita Puspure (Ireland), the 23-year-old Osnabrück woman amazed the experts in the semifinals. In a close race, she narrowly prevailed against Greek Anneta Kyridou in the final sprint. “Compared to yesterday, my performance today didn’t surprise me that much. I would be lying if I said not to flirt with a medal, ”Greiten said.
The easy men’s double scull also has the best chances on the winner’s podium. Jonathan Rommelmann (Krefeld) and Jason Osborne (Mainz) left the competition behind them in the semifinals on Saturday, as they did in the preliminary stages. A total of nine DRV boats were able to qualify for the finals in the 14 Olympic classes.
The Germany eighth is probably the biggest contender for gold. The preliminary victory over Romania and the second place in the World Cup, the Netherlands, fueled confidence in defending champion hitter Hannes Ocik (Schwerin). «We drove an almost perfect introductory race. But we still have to work on the track, ”said crew member Jakob Schneider (Essen) with a view to the showdown (3:01 pm) of the only international regatta over the classic 2000 meter distance this season.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201010-99-895775 / 3
– .
