Javelin thrower Natalija Eder was 1.09 meters short of the bronze medal. Krisztian Gardos finished fifth in table tennis.
A fight against heat and competition: Natalija Eder
The Paralympics medal series from javelin thrower Natalija Eder is torn. The athlete achieved her season best of 37.92 meters in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday, but that was only fourth. Table tennis player Krisztian Gardos was fifth in the MS10 class, the Tyrolean was defeated in the quarterfinals by the Montenegrin Filip Radovic 1: 3 (-8, -8, 12, -8). The swimmers Andreas Onea and Andreas Ernhofer finished ninth and tenth over 200 and 150 m, respectively.
ÖPC flag bearer Eder won the bronze medal both in London in 2012 and in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and was now 1.09 meters short of the triple medal. “On the one hand, I'm satisfied with my width, but of course fourth place hurts,” said the Styrian. “I tried to stay calm because if you cramp up above, the spear won't fly at all. But maybe I was too calm. There was a little lack of aggressiveness. Technically, it was basically a good fit. “
The 41-year-old said the heat was another factor: “The conditions today were extreme. We put wet towels and ice on between the throws, but you can't cool your body down. ”Eder didn't want to understand that as an excuse:“ It's the same for everyone! ”Gold went to the Uzbekistani Notsimachon Kajumowa at 42, 59 meters, silver to the Chinese world record holder Yuping Zhao (41.85 m), bronze to the Belarusian Lisaweta Piatrenka (38.99 m).
The next goal is a European Championship medal: Krisztian Gardos
The look is ahead
Krisztian Gardos had also won bronze five years ago, after finishing second in the group, this time he was stuck in the round of the last eight. “Unfortunately, my medal dream did not come true. It's been a long five years, and I would like to thank the ÖPC for their support, ”said the 46-year-old. “Now I'm looking ahead and I'm hoping for my first European Championship medal.”
Gardos said he made too many mistakes against Radovic. In the second set he left a 5: 4 lead unused and won the second round after a 7: 0 run with his third set point. At 8: 8 in the fourth set the match seemed open, but the round and then the match of the MS10 class were lost. “Krisztian delivered his best match in Tokyo,” said head coach Clemens Gal. “But unfortunately he couldn't use the momentum in the fourth movement.”
The opponent celebrated every point – including every edge ball – as if it had been the match point. Gal: “That is extremely inappropriate in table tennis and also caused unrest.” Gardos is of course already targeting the Paralympics Paris 2024. “My wife dreams of Paris – I would like to grant her this wish.”
Just over
Andreas Onea missed the final in 2: 31.03 minutes, 0.95 seconds in the Aquatics Center, Andreas Ernhofer hit in his third Tokyo competition after 2: 51.58 minutes. “I'm satisfied, it was the second best time that an Austrian has ever swum this distance,” said the Lower Austrian. “But it is also a perfect example of how close joy and sorrow are when you swim past the final by a few tenths.” Onea and Ernhofer were substitute swimmers for the final session.
