Paris 2024 Olympics - Sprint Canoe - Men's Kayak Double 500m Victory Ceremony - Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium - Flatwater, Vaires-sur-Marne, France - August 09, 2024. Gold medallists Jacob Schopf of Germany and Max Lemke of Germany pose after winning. REUTERS/Molly Darlington
PARIS (Reuters) - After missing out on gold in Tokyo by a fraction of a second, Germany's Jacob Schopf finally topped the podium after a brilliant display with new racing partner Max Lemke as they won the men's kayak double 500m final on Friday.
Recently paired together, the two proved a perfect match as their strong strokes and rock-solid rhythm edged out silver medallists Bence Nadas and Sandor Totka of Hungary, with Jean van der Westhuyzen and Tom Green of Australia taking bronze.
"It was a perfect revenge," Schopf told Reuters after a golden finish wiped away three years of wondering what might have been in the kayak double 1000 in 2021.
"I remember (Tokyo) to this day, and I felt a little bit nervous, but when we caught this perfect start I (began to) feel it was a perfect race."
His crewmate Lemke also felt the competition was decided in the opening moments at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
"We had the perfect start and a very good first 250 metres - we are so far ahead 250 metres after the start, so we were just thinking to bring it over the line, and we managed to do that, so super-happy about it," he said beaming.
Neither athlete was worried that they might somehow tire with the gold medal within their grasp.
"In training you don't have the crowd there, you don't have other boats pushing you to the limit, so I think only the best athletes find it possible to perform at this level and in the final like that," Lemke said.
"We managed to do that today, and I'm super proud that we did this together as a team."
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Ken Ferris)
