That is impossible!
Rowing gold hope Oliver Zeidler (25) is not even there when it comes to medals in one in Tokyo on Friday. The German is eliminated in the semifinals. Fourth place is just not enough. Only the first three go further, Zeidler is 0.6 seconds off.
He’s getting into the race well and seems to have everything under control as runner-up behind Stefanos Ntouskos (Greece). But in the last 500 meters Sverri Nielsen (Denmark) and Alexander Vyazovkin (Russia) pull past him. Zeidler is completely exhausted at the finish and lies on the jetty for minutes to recover. He doesn’t want to give any more interviews.
Papa and trainer Heino Zeidler: “We weren’t as good as we were at regattas this year. The conditions were very extreme. In the short time that the Oli is rowing, this experience cannot be made up for. He has to do it and he gets better with every race. It was a good race, but the others were better. “
Zeidler was a swimmer until five years ago, then switched to rowing. The weather conditions were again on the verge of what is allowed according to the regulations. On the “Sea Forest Waterway” in Tokyo it was extremely windy during the race and the water surface was very rough. Papa-Zeidler: “Oli loves shallow water, no waves, calm or a slight pushing wind. The conditions were our biggest opponent. “
The disappointment is now huge. It is also unclear whether Zeidler will continue as a coach in a duo with his dad.
Heino Zeidler: “Family business and family tradition – those are buzzwords that we played along with from the start and we enjoyed them too. He is now 25, others become Olympic champions at 36. We have to see: Does this father-son team go on. For me it’s always an incredible burden. I actually have a different job. You can’t do this permanently on the side. You have to think about how you can get even better. “
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