TOKYO (AP) – Jonathan Rommelmann and Jason Osborne became the first German lightweight rowers to win an Olympic medal.

He conceded defeat to Ireland at the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo and won the silver medal. The bronze went to the Italian boat.

“I still can not believe it. The Irish had a lot of fights with us. We can not blame ourselves with a silver medal in the Olympics,” Romelman told ARD. Osborne added: “Except for the last 300 meters, we were very good at it. We gave it our all, but that is no longer possible.”

Since the Olympic premiere in Atlanta in 1996, no German has reached the double-two medal rankings. However, women had silver in 2000 and 2004. Now Rommelman / Osborne has elevated men to the Olympic history books and bravely run through difficult windy conditions.

On the 2000 m long route, strong winds blow in both demanding but manageable conditions. Rommelman and Osborne were ahead for a long time, but at the end of the route the powerful Irish had to be allowed to pass. The gap was just 0.86 seconds.

Both dominated the semi-final match and won by a large margin. Only Irish Paul O’Donoghue and Fintan McCarthy set an even bigger surprise in their preliminary race with a new world record. So, in addition to the Italians, Rommelman and Osborne knew that the boat from Green Island would have to be beaten for gold.

Two lightweight forms gained their confidence, mainly for the Gold project in Austria. At training camp just before the start of the Games, they “made another big step, and now a lot of boats are under control”.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210729-99-588235 / 3