Rowing-Twigg and Borch race to early leads at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
On the first day of Olympic rowing at the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo, fascinating matchups began to form in the men’s and women’s single sculls, including four-time Olympian Emma Twigg’s latest fight for the podium.
After two painful fourth-place finishes at the London and Rio Olympics, the 34-year-old New Zealander posted the quickest overall time of the women’s opening heats in her first race since 2019. She finished in 7 minutes and 35.22 seconds at the fan-free venue.
“It’s a real lung-buster, for sure.
There were some pre-event nervousness, but that’s to be anticipated in the Olympics. To begin is to succeed, “that’s what she stated. Nobody shows their hand in these early races.
A formidable opponent awaits her, as the 30-year-old American Kara Kohler won her heat in her Olympic rowing return, while the 39-year-old Irish Sanita Puspure lived up to the anticipation by winning her round by more than eight seconds, having previously won the 2018 and 2019 World Championships.
British rower Victoria Thornley, who won silver in the double sculls in 2016, also made it to the next round.
The 33-year-old, three-time Olympian said, “Coming to the Olympics in the single has been a dream of mine for some time, so it’s fantastic to be out there doing what I love.”
The men’s race was shaping up to be a rematch of the 2019 World Championship final as Norway’s Kjetil Borch set the overall pace with a time of 6:54.46, Germany’s Oliver Zeidler, 24, and Denmark’s Sverri Nielsen, 27, both won their respective heats.
A bronze medalist in the double sculls at the 2016 Olympic Games, the 31-year-old commented, “Everything went as anticipated.” In 2019, he placed third, behind Zeidler and Nielsen.
“The excitement and anticipation for the opening ceremony was palpable,” someone said.
After New Zealand’s Mahe Drysdale, the 2012 and 2016 gold medalist, retired, Croatia’s Damir Martin, who won silver in Rio, also advanced to the quarterfinals and hopes to fight his way to the top of the podium.
Men’s double scullers Melvin Twellaar and Stef Broenink, both from the Netherlands, smashed the previous Olympic mark with a blistering first-heat time of 6 minutes, 8.38 seconds, defeating the 2018 World Champions from France, Hugo Boucheron and Matthieu Androdias.
As a result of winning their heat in 6:49:90, the Dutch women’s single and quad, as well as the men’s quad, advanced to the semifinals.
Saturday brings the pairs, lightweight double sculls, and fours events for the rowing competition at the Olympics.