Paris 2024 Olympics - Rowing - Men's Single Sculls Semifinal A/B 2 - Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium - Flatwater, Vaires-sur-Marne, France - August 01, 2024. Oliver Zeidler of Germany in action. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
PARIS (Reuters) -Reigning world champion Oliver Zeidler of Germany set an Olympic record as he blazed into the men's single sculls Olympic final on Thursday in a time of 6:35.77, eclipsing the previous mark of 6:40.45 set by Stefanos Ntouskos of Greece at the Tokyo Games.
Zeidler held off a strong challenge from Belarusian-born Yauheni Zalaty, who is competing under the individual neutral athlete (AIN) banner at the Paris Games, to clinch victory in the second semi-final, with Ntouskos coming in third.
Ntouskos, who took gold in Tokyo, seemed unperturbed by Zeidler breaking his record.
"I know he's a very good sculler and very strong. For me, the target was to go in the final, I know now that all is open, and I think I was in good shape, and we will see in the final," he told Reuters.
In the first semi-final, Dutch rower Simon van Dorp topped the standings ahead of New Zealand's Thomas Mackintosh and Tim Brys of Belgium. The top three from each semi will take part in Saturday's final.
Reigning Olympic champion in women's single sculls Emma Twigg of New Zealand recorded a blistering time of 7:17.19 seconds to win her semi-final.
Twigg, who set an Olympic record in Tokyo, finished just under two seconds ahead of Viktorija Senkute of Lithuania. They will be joined in the final by Kara Kohler (USA), Karolien Florijn (Netherlands), Tara Rigney (Australia) and Desislava Angelova (Bulgaria).
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Tom Hogue and Toby Davis)
