She calls her Instagram account maike.rowing and that says the most important things: first name and sport.
Maike Diekmann from Otjiwarongo is the first female athlete from Namibia to try her hand at the Olympics as a water sports enthusiast.
And the result of the African champion with German roots was quite impressive "after five years of hard work": The 27-year-old came in 18th out of 32 participants.
“We couldn't be prouder” writes the former athlete in the pluralis majestatis about herself and her Olympic adventure, whereby it can be assumed that her entire South West African support team is also meant by this.
Achim Dreis
Sports editor.
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Her great-grandparents once emigrated from Germany to the dusty country in South West Africa, where the Diekmanns have been firmly rooted ever since. There the sports enthusiast Maike first played hockey and was active as a track and field athlete. Only after studying in neighboring South Africa did she come into contact with water sports and immediately proved to be an absolute talent. Her public image as a rower was so great that, together with boxer Jonas Junias, she was even allowed to carry Namibia's flag at the opening ceremony.
And she also showed the flag for Africa on the water. The nice thing about the Olympic rowing regatta is that it cannot all be over after one preliminary run, but the battle for all places is fought in several stages. And so Maike Diekmann qualified directly for the quarter-finals as a strong third place in the preliminary run and even skipped the hope run. There she moved into the semifinals C / D, where she achieved her best drive during the days of Tokyo in 7: 40.77 minutes. And even though she was last in Final C on Friday, four races in Tokyo Bay meant nothing less than an “unbelievable journey” for Maike Diekmann.