Chance of precious metal

Rowing: Lobnig fights for semi-final spot today

Magdalena Lobnig

(Bild: AFP/APA/Bertrand GUAY)

Magdalena Lobnig, who is in poor health, has qualified for the single scull semi-finals on Thursday at the Olympic Games with a tactical run!

The Carinthian, who was severely affected by a disc injury during her preparations, finished safely in third place in her quarter-final on Tuesday, with the top three in the four quarter-final heats advancing.

"I felt that I wasn't at my peak physically!"
"Of course I'm super happy that I made it to the semi-finals again, but the race wasn't as good as the preliminary heat," said Lobnig, who had been struggling with a cold recently. "It was absolutely tactical and always secured towards the back. In my situation, you naturally try to save energy. My body has been struggling with a cold over the last two days. I simply felt that I wasn't at my best physically at the moment, but I was never in danger of reaching the semi-finals."

Lobnig pulled away from the start with Viktorija Senkute from Lithuania and Anna Prakaten from Uzbekistan and then kept her pursuers at bay. The 34-year-old eventually finished 6.32 seconds behind Senkute and 4.16 behind Prakaten, who won silver for Russia ahead of Lobnig at the Olympics three years ago.

"Competitors know that they have to keep me in mind!"
Her eleventh-best time should not be overestimated, but she will certainly need to improve in the semi-finals. "The cards will be reshuffled. The competitors know that they have to have me on their radar. I can always surprise them, I'll try to bring that element of surprise to the semi-finals. I won't be able to save anything in the semi-final. I'll see if I can pull off a magic run."