Olympia - Whitewater

Oschmautz out in the round of 16 in kayak cross!

Felix Oschmautz

(Bild: GEPA)

The whitewater canoeists Felix Oschmautz and Viktoria Wolffhardt were eliminated in the last 16 of the new Olympic kayak cross competition in Vaires-sur-Marne on Sunday!

The Carinthian came third in his knockout heat with four competitors, the Lower Austrian only came fourth. The top two in each event progressed to the quarter-finals, which, like the last two rounds, are scheduled for Monday. Double Olympic champion Jessica Fox (AUS) was also eliminated, including against her sister Noemie.

Felix Oschmautz

(Bild: GEPA)

"He wanted to keep me in check right at the start!"
Oschmautz had achieved a top 8 finish on Friday and therefore had the right to choose his starting position. It was a spectacular start in the hard plastic boats from a ramp meters deep into the canal, but the second position from the left did not give the 25-year-old any advantage. He fell behind after just a few meters. "I spoke to Stefan Hengst afterwards," Oschmautz recounted a conversation with the German competitor. "He knew I was strong and wanted to keep me in check a bit right at the start."

"There was no room to paddle!"
This permitted move worked, the favorite was on the defensive. "He took space away from me, there was no room to paddle. I got off to a bad start and someone else logically got off to a very good one." At the first upwind gate, he still had the chance to get away in second place, but this was not possible due to the crowd. "When there's such a fight that the gate is already shaking, it's difficult to ride super-fast on your own." Oschmautz then managed one overtaking maneuver, but one too few.

"But I fought all the way to the finish line!"
Of course he was disappointed, the 25-year-old had to admit. He had not made any wrong decisions. "That's why it feels tough. But I fought all the way to the finish line, that's all I can do." Basically, he had coped well with the transition from the slalom boat, in which he had finished tenth in the final, to the cross boat. He had hoped for a little more from the Games. "A podium could have been possible, things could have gone as well as they have now, or worse. In sporting terms, it is what it is. But the Olympics were an amazing experience, really special."

Viktoria Wolffhardt

(Bild: GEPA)

Now, however, it feels like he will be taking a block of vacation for the first time since he turned pro, or for seven years. He always went to university after the end of the season at the end of September. "Now it's home time, family time. Then I'm going on an outdoor vacation with a couple of guys, then I'm going on vacation with my girlfriend (Olympic silver medallist in snowboarding Daniela Ulbing, please note). Then I'll be recharged again."

"Just missed the final again in the slalom!"
Oschmautz finished 17th, Wolffhardt 31st and Corinna Kuhnle from Lower Austria, who was eliminated in the hope heats, 33rd. Wolffhardt was seeded 30th in the top 32 and had advanced via the hope heats the day before. The athlete from Tulln consequently had the worst starting position, was immediately in fourth place and never got away from there. "Mixed feelings," was how she summed up her performance at her second Games. "Just missed the final again in the slalom." This time, the eleventh-placed kayaker from Tokyo came 14th in the canoe. She goes home on Thursday. "I'm still going to race the two September World Cups," announced the 30-year-old. She could not commit herself beyond that.