Friday July 30th 2021
That brings the Olympic Saturday
German sprinters in the 100 meter final?
Day eight at the Olympics in Tokyo – and finally the athletics really get going. The semi-finals and the finals in the women’s 100-meter sprint are right next door and two Germans are right in the middle. In the discus finals, when shooting and in the swimming pool, the Germans squinted for medals.
Triathlon mixed: Laura Lindemann’s lost chance for a medal? Checked off! The disappointment after the men’s debacle? Gone! There was no trace of hesitation or strife after the individual races, the German triathletes firmly believe in reparation in the mixed relay (0:30 am). And that is sorely needed – because the German Triathlon Union (DTU) took full risk for the Olympic premiere of the still young competition.
Instead of nominating the supposedly best athletes for the individual races, the association based its Tokyo squad entirely on the special super sprint format of the mixed competition. Those in charge see the greatest opportunities there on Saturday. “Top eight with the relay is our goal,” said sporting director Jörg Bügner: “If it goes well, it could be more. If we catch a super cream day, we even have a chance to win a medal.”
swim: After her bronze medal in the 1500 meter freestyle, Sarah Köhler tries to reach for the next precious metal. The favorites in the 800 meter freestyle (03:46) are the 2016 Olympic champion, Katie Ledecky from the USA and Ariarne Titmus from Australia. While Ledecky was the fastest in the heats, Köhler also showed that she is in top form. In her preliminary run she swam confidently into the final and even scratched the German record she held with a time of 8: 17.33. Only nine tenths were missing. The second German, Isabel Gose, narrowly missed the final.
For the first time women and men swim together at the Olympics, so for the first time the medals in 4×100 meters mixed medley will be awarded (04:43 am). For Germany, Marek Ulrich, Fabian Schwingenschlögl, Lisa Höpink and Annika Bruh just barely missed the final in ninth place in the heats. Great Britain (European record in the run-up), USA and China are among the favorites at this premiere.
Weightlifting: In his second Olympic participation, Nico Müller is aiming for a personal record in the men up to 81 kilograms (8:50 a.m.). That will probably be necessary, because: “The competition in this weight class is very close and strong. That is why it was a class achievement that Nico qualified directly,” said Müller’s trainer Oliver Caruso. The weightlifter doesn’t work out a medal, but of course he hopes a little: “A lot can happen in a competition. I’m well prepared and in top shape. If there is a chance to push forward, I want to use it.” In Rio, Müller finished tenth, this time, from his point of view, he might like to land a few places up the front.
shoot: She still missed the final with the air rifle, now Jolyn Beer is one of the favorites from Neustadt am Rübenberge in the small-caliber three-position fight (qualification 5 a.m., final 9 a.m.) and hopes to be able to inherit Barbara Engleder as Olympic champion. The chances are not bad, the Hanoverian is considered to be extremely confident in her favorite discipline and shoots one world class rating after the other. Beer only missed the final twice in the last eleven international competitions. Seonaid McIntosh from Great Britain and Ziva Dvorsak from Slovenia are her main competitors.
Archery: Florian Unruh made a sensational advance into the individual round of 16. And that against the 17-year-old Korean mega-talent Kim Je Deok, who won the qualification confidently, had already won gold in mixed and team and had crossed for triple gold. So everything is possible for the 28-year-old Unruh against the Canadian Crispin Duenas (03:09 am), if he can call up such a concentrated performance again and prove his mental strength. “He’s in exactly the right place in this final arena. We’ll see what’s coming,” said national coach Oliver Haidn. The final starts at 9.45 a.m.
Judo: “I was not satisfied with the performance. I had the feeling that I fought completely like shit,” cursed judoka Giovanna Scoccimarro after missing her bronze medal in the small final. Now the 23-year-old can attack again with the mixed team and do better. There are six individual fights per round, three for women and three for men. For Germany, in the round of 16 (4 a.m.), it will first face the Refugee Olympic Team. Scoccimarro’s opponent is Afghan Nigara Shaheen, number 186 in the world. That is feasible and that’s why the judoka is optimistic: “I hope that we can get a medal there. I think we have a chance. We are a strong team and I’m looking forward to the competition.” The final starts at 11.30 a.m.
athletics: Finally, athletics is really getting started at the Olympic tournament and an exciting question is in the room: Who will inherit Olympic discus champion Christoph Harting? One with ambitions is the third from 2016, Daniel Jasinski. He threw the discus only 63.29 meters in the qualification, although it was enough for the final (1:15 p.m.), but he did not spread fear among the competition. “It was just a little too careful, that’s not enough to get a good performance,” Jasinski knew. “The aggressiveness was a little lacking.”
Clemens Prüfer is also hoping for more aggressiveness – and above all more throws – on Saturday, who only made it into the final as eighth with a width of 63.18 meters. “There was easily a meter more in there,” said the 23-year-old. The direct qualification for the final (required throwing distance of 66 meters) is only achieved by the Swedish world champion Daniel Stahl.
The women’s 100 meter sprint final is a real treat. But first of all, the semi-finals (12.15 p.m.) are due. In the first, Tatjana Pinto wants to make it clear in her first Olympic final in individual at her third game. Her 11.16 seconds in the lead were more than decent, but of course they don’t match the top times of the favorites. The Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou ran the 100 meters in just 10.78 seconds, even in a light headwind. That meant an African record.
The other top favorites come from Jamaica and they already knew how to convince: Elaine Thompson-Herah, who won gold in Rio in 2016, was second fastest in 10.82 seconds, while Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Olympic gold medalist in 2008 and 2012, was underbid The eleven seconds with 10.84 seconds are also easy. The German champion Alexandra Burghardt came very close to the magic mark in her preliminary victory. If she can repeat her 11.08 seconds in the second semi-final, she should have a chance of the final (2:50 p.m.).
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