Thursday, August 5th, 2021
World champion only just beaten
Kayak thriller ends with German silver
Florian Wellbrock won the first German medal of the day in the night, and in the early morning the canoeists followed suit: the two kayaks Max Hoff / Jacob Schopf took silver over 1000 meters. The “two-generation” world champions only had to admit defeat to Australia.
It wasn’t quite enough for Max Hoff and Jacob Schopf to win the longed for gold, but the two world champions in kayaking two-mans were also happy with Olympic silver. Shortly after crossing the finish line, they hugged, were boat to boat with the winners Jean van der Westhuyzen and Thomas Green from Australia. The two athletes from Essen and Potsdam were 0.304 seconds short of the 1000 meters on the Sea Forest Waterway after a real canoe thriller. Third place went to the Czechs Josef Dostal and Radek Slouf. “That was important, the boat was one of our medal banks. But it is also obvious that the Oceania countries such as Australia and New Zealand had excellent preparation,” said Canoe Sports Director Jens Kahl.
After the bronze medal by Sebastian Brendel / Tim Hecker in the two-man canoe, it was the second medal for the German Canoe Association at the Summer Games in Tokyo. 16 years of age difference were once again not a problem. The two-generation boat with 38-year-old Max Hoff and the only 22-year-old Jacob Schopf harmonized wonderfully. The eight-time canoe world champion Hoff, who, with his 1.98 meters in front as a batsman, almost blocks the view of the twelve centimeters smaller forelock as the helmsman, had announced a “tight, open thing” and emphasized: “We know what we dream of, but we can do a little more than that. ” In the semifinals they controlled the field and drove safely to the final. Also because they could rely on their final spurt.
“I screwed it up”
After missing the medal, Schopf was aggressive as fourth in the one and promised: “There are still enough grains for the two.” Especially because the 2019 world championship duo made it straight to the semi-finals. “Actually, you have to eat 5000 kilocalories every 1000 meters here. It’s a huge energy act here,” said Schopf. He had dealt with the personal defeat in the one (“I screwed it up”) well. “I then phoned my parents and friends and received good support,” he said. “I realized then that there is more than just winning a medal.”
Schopf is considered a new generation driver in the German team. Statements such as “perfectionism speaks from each of us” testify to a professional approach. He was just sad that his family couldn’t cheer on the spot: “My family and my two best friends would have come, including my old coach. When they heard that no spectators were allowed to come, it was a bad blow for them and for me.”
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