The exceptional German canoeist Sebastian Brendel (Potsdam) confidently reached the final at the home World Championships in Duisburg. There are also German finals in other classes.
The exceptional German canoeist Sebastian Brendel (Potsdam) confidently reached the final at the home World Championships in Duisburg. The last three-time Olympic champion, who was in poor form, came in second in his semi-finals in the Canadian singles over the 1000 m, two seconds behind. For his podium hopes, he has to improve even further in the final on Saturday (12:01 p.m.).
The first medals will be awarded on Friday afternoon on the regatta course in Duisburg, including the men’s and women’s finals in the prestigious K4 boat class. In addition to Brendel, numerous other boats from the German Canoe Association prevailed in the semi-finals on Thursday afternoon and fueled hopes for precious metal.
German teams strong in all classes
In the Olympic classes, Lisa Jahn and Hedi Kliemke qualified in the C2 over 500 m, Pauline Jagsch in the K1 over 500 m and Jakob Thordsen in the K1 over 1000 m for the A finals. Anton Winkelmann and Leonard Busch did the same in K2 over 1000 m and Ophelia Preller in C1 over the same distance. The mixed boats with Brendel and Sophie Koch as well as Lena Röhlings and Jacob Schopf got their final ticket in the heats.
After fourth place in the semifinals, Jonas Dräger has to go into the B final. Felix Frank and Martin Hiller as well as Paulina Paszek with Jule Hake in the K2 over 500 m and Peter Kretschmer with Tim Hecker in the C2 over 500 m qualified for the semi-finals in their heats on the Olympic distances. Caroline Arft solved the non-Olympic distances in the K1 over 200 m and the C4 over 500 m with Jahn, Kliemke, Annika Loske and Preller the tickets for the semifinals.
The World Cup in Duisburg, which runs until Sunday, is the highlight of the year for racing canoeists. Numerous quota places for the Olympic Games in Paris will be awarded. Last year, the German team won 14 medals at the World Championships in Canada (2 gold, 7 silver, 5 bronze).