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Fencer Max Hartung
Photo:
Matthias Hangst / Getty Images
The German night after the official opening of the Summer Olympics brought the first day of competition in Tokyo - and also the first decision.
The Chinese marksman Qian Yang won the first gold medal of these games at the air rifle over the ten-meter distance, she narrowly prevailed against the Russian Anastasia Galaschina.
Yang was in the end with 251.8 points, only 0.7 points ahead of the Galaschina, which had led to the last shot.
That was important
It was long open whether the German professional cyclist Emanuel Buchmann could even take part in the first decision in the road race on Mount Fuji.
Buchmann's roommate Simon Geschke tested positive for the corona virus on Friday and had to cancel his participation.
But after Buchmann had submitted two negative PCR tests at the same time, he was allowed to go to the start at 4 a.m.
For the Syrian table tennis player Hend Zaza, the Olympics were already over when the bike race started.
Zaza is twelve years old and thus the youngest female athlete in Tokyo. In any case, only four Olympians were younger in history.
Against the 27 years older Liu Jia from Austria, Zaza lost 0: 4 in 24 minutes.
For parts of the German rowing team, too, it threatened to be a short competition.
The women's double scull with Annekatrin Thiele and Leonie Menzel also reached the semi-finals via the hope run, as did the men's double scull with Stephan Krüger and Marc Weber.
Neither of them made it into the top three on Friday in the preliminary run.
Because a severe storm is predicted for Tokyo on Monday, the rowers will start again on Sunday.
That will be important
But the day of the competition is not over, there are still numerous decisions to be made.
Among other things, a gold medal will be awarded in the road bike race.
Or in fencing.
The star of German fencing, Max Hartung, is also fighting for the gold medal in the saber, but Hartung first has to face Iranian Ali Pakdaman in the round of 16 from 7.35 a.m.
The fencers are also in action, but a German athlete is no longer in the race.
The German handball players start the tournament on the German morning.
At 9.15 a.m., the team of trainer Alfred Gíslason meets Spain.
For the Joduka, the gold decision is made in the morning: for women in the weight class up to 48 kilograms and for men in the weight class up to 60 kilograms.
Germans are no longer in the race, Katharina Menz and Moritz Plafky failed in the sixteenth finals.
And the medal hope of the German judoka, Theresa Stoll, competes in the weight class up to 57 kilograms.
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