The German canoe team got off to a very bad start at the Olympics.
A forklift destroyed the four-man kayak of the gold contenders.
Tokyo - It couldn't be more bad luck: The German four-person kayak was destroyed by a forklift while it was being transported to Tokyo.
For the Olympic * top favorites over the 500-meter distance Tom Liebscher, Max Lemke, Ronald Rauhe and Max Rendschmidt, this news was initially a shock.
“The worst case scenario has occurred for us,” Liebscher quarrels on the Instagram channel of the German Canoe Association (DKV).
"Our boat broke on the way to Tokyo, a forklift crashed into the boat while it was being loaded, and now we have a total loss," describes the German kayak ace.
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Olympia 2021: German kayak drivers unlucky - boat breaks during transport
“We were pretty broken up at first.
The special thing is that this type of boat only exists twice in the world, ”he continues.
The second boat was now sent on the fastest route from Germany.
It has so far been used during the preparation in Duisburg.
Fortunately, the kayakers * still have a bit of a buffer before their competition.
On August 6th, the preliminary heats will take place in “K4”, and the finals will take place one day later (Olympia schedule *).
At the last games in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, the German kayak four won the gold medal over 1000 meters.
Overall, the canoeists won four gold, two silver and one bronze medals.
Olympia 2021: German kayak cracks lend a hand after a screwed up transport
To make sure that the second boat actually arrives, special precautions have been taken.
The athletes tackle it themselves: In a video they show how they professionally pack their sports equipment in a large, sturdy wooden box.
Nothing should go wrong there.
On the other hand, things went wrong at the start of the German Olympic footballers. The DFB team lost their first game against Brazil 2: 4.
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