The Summer Olympics will take place without the Austrian canoeist Timon Maurer. The Viennese came fifth on Thursday at the remaining space regatta in Szeged over 1,000 m kayak, only first and second places earned Paris tickets.
“I got off to a solid start and was about a boat length ahead after 30 seconds, which I held until the 800m mark. Then I got nervous and couldn’t keep up with the pace,” explained the 24-year-old.
Canoe: Maurer and Co. not at the Olympics
Maurer said he would take a lot of experience with him into the next Olympic cycle. “Even if I missed my goal, I am not dissatisfied. But logically I’m annoyed.” Ana-Roxana Lehaci (500 m/kayak) and Manfred Pallinger (1,000 m/canoe) missed out on making it to the final.
This means that Austria is not represented in France in flat water canoeing; in white water, Corinna Kuhnle and Felix Oschmautz currently hold two quota places. Mario Leitner and Viktoria Wolffhardt are still in the race. They could improve their starting position at the European Championships in Tacen in Slovenia next week.
