The German eight remains in the race for the direct Olympic starting places. With second place in the repechage heat of the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, just behind Romania, the crew around batsman Mattes Schönherr kept the chance of one of the five Paris tickets that will be awarded in the final on Sunday. This means that everyone involved could be spared a test of nerves for two more tickets during the post-qualification next year. The last time there were Olympic Games without the DRV parade boat was in Sydney in 2000. Unlike the eighth-place finisher, Oliver Zeidler can already safely plan for Paris after his victory in the semi-finals.
As in the two previous races on the Ada Ciganlija, the 27-year-old defending champion from Munich was once again in brilliant form and relegated Olympic champion Stefanos Ntouskos from Greece and the Croatian Damir Martin to second and third place. This means that the two-time world champion goes into the final as the favorite. The Olympic qualification will be a real challenge for Alexandra Föster. After the 21-year-old from Meschede came fourth, a long way behind the leading trio, the women’s singles final will take place without German participation. However, with a third place in the B final, Föster would definitely be there in Paris. In addition to Föster, the men’s double scull also missed out on the final in fifth place. This means that the DRV has so far only been represented in three finals of the 14 Olympic classes.
