MEN'S SINGLES
M1x
Words: Rachel Quarrell / Photography: Steve McArthur
Two big names were missing from the Tokyo M1x final: the retired Mahé Drysdale, and the likely-retired Ondrej Synek, sadly having to yield his place at the Olympics after post-COVID ill health made him uncompetitive in what had been expected to be the last hurrah of a stellar career. So, what was left for the 2020 Olympic final? A lineup comprised of some of the usual suspects along with a couple of curveballs. The curveballs were Greek former LM4- lightweight Stefanos Ntouskos and Russia's FOQR athlete Alexander Vyazovkin, the latter raising eyebrows after qualifying at the last minute alongside Hanna Prakatsen for the biggest show on earth, but definitely outrunning his form (12th at last year's European championships, needed two bites of the cherry to qualify for Tokyo) by making the final. He did that by finishing third in the semi in front of 2019 world champion Oli Zeidler (GER), who had been ambushed by Ntouskos' last 500 metre sprint into losing his nerve in tricky water. Occupying the usual suspect chairs were perennial medallists Sverri Nielsen (DEN) and Kjetil Borch (NOR), a rejuvenated Damir Martin (CRO) after several difficult years, and the ever-frisky Mindaugas Griskonis (LTU), who has sprung his share of surprises too in top-line races. A feast for the rowing world, watching online and wondering if they would get another dead heat as they did when Martin and Mahé Drysdale registered the same time in Rio. Not quite, but it was an astounding race.