As befits the start of the Olympic Games, there was plenty of water sports on and in the water on the fourth day. The Netherlands did well today.
For example, there was success at the Stade Nautique de Vaires-sur-Marne, where rowing is practiced. In the skiff (a single-oared boat), Karolien Florijn more than met the high expectations. Without needing all her strength, she finished fastest in the quarter-finals and qualified for the final. She said afterwards: “You really want to sail as slowly as possible, but then the German came too close and I had to start again.”
Simon van Dorp also made it to the semi-finals. The surprisingly tall Van Dorp (2.03 metres tall and size 51) started as the favourite in his lane and took the lead after 500 metres, which he never relinquished.
There was also success in the double sculls. Lisa Scheenaard and Martina Veldhuis reached the women’s final, while Melvin Twellaar and Stef Broenink did so in the men’s.
In the pool, Arno Kamminga and Caspar Corbeau qualified for the semi-finals of the double distance event just two days after missing out on an Olympic medal in the 100m breaststroke. Kamminga, who said he couldn’t sleep after missing the 100m final, finished 12th in 2:10.53. American Corbeau, who won silver at the World Championships in February, clocked the fourth fastest time in Paris: 2:09.78.
Even more success on the water: Sailors Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz have once again taken the lead in the 49erFX skiff class. The reigning champions benefited from the wind, which has picked up compared to recent days, to secure a second and third place. The Dutch have 35 points after twelve races.
Little success on the judo mat
Despite all the success in the water, it was a bad day for Dutch judo. For example, Joanne van Lieshout unexpectedly lost her first match to South Korean Ji-su Kim. For the 21-year-old world champion in the up to 63 kilogram category, this meant elimination.
NOS later spoke to Van Lieshout’s coach, Garmt Zijlstra. According to him, Van Lieshout was a good judge, “but you can still lose, that’s part of the sport.” According to her coach, the judoka from Brabant suffered from migraines after the match.
“Sometime in the middle of the game I felt it coming. Headache and tingling sensation on my tongue,” Van Lieshout later explained. “I don’t think it had any influence on the match,” he said honestly. “I did everything right and was on my way to victory, but I momentarily missed twenty seconds before the end and made a mistake. I’m really upset about that. I had imagined this tournament very differently.”
De Wit quits and stops losing weight
It was also an unpleasant day for another Dutch judoka. Although Frank de Wit won his opening match against Hugo Cumbo of Vanuatu, he was knocked out by Somon Makhmadbekov of Tajikistan in the next round.
After her elimination, De Wit announced that she wanted to move up to a higher weight class, up to 90 kilograms. “For years, I have had to lose 7 to 8 kilos in two weeks, eight to nine times a year, to reach the right weight for a tournament. That doesn’t make anyone happy. It’s not fun anymore and I don’t want it anymore,” says 28-year-old Heemskerker.
Tears for the American flag bearer
Finally, we take a look at other highlights of the day. There was much sadness for American tennis star Cori Gauff. The 20-year-old world number two was the hot favourite in her eighth final against Croatian Donna Vekic, but lost in straight sets 7-6, 6-2.
There was one striking moment during the match. In the second set, Gauff disagreed with the umpire’s decision on break point, calling for a ball that went in before she could return the ball. The American flag bearer broke down in tears and was ultimately proven wrong. She couldn’t get over that blow.
