Batsman Hannes Ocik was completely exhausted and looked disappointed at the scene in Tokyo Bay, and his strong colleagues also looked anything but happy.
The Germany eight failed in his big Olympic gold project.
The parade boat had to be content with the silver medal behind New Zealand at the Olympic Games on the Sea Forest Waterway on Friday after the team had dominated the world elite for years.
Great Britain came in third.
The German Rowing Association's last hope for gold was over.
Before the eyes of IOC boss Thomas Bach, everything was geared towards the big coup for the flagship after silver in Rio de Janeiro.
It should be the second gold medal since reunification, nine years after London 2012. What could go wrong?
Since 2017, the DRV eight around helmsman Martin Sauer had won the world title three times in a row, won four European championships and also set the world record.
Competition could not be shaken off
And on the regatta course in Tokyo everything went according to plan with gray clouds and a slight rumble of thunder. The German boat quickly took the lead, but the competition could not be shaken off. In a close race at halftime, the British and New Zealand were suddenly in front of the German boat. It seemed as if the weight of the favorite role would paralyze the parade boat, the gap grew from meter to meter. With a final sprint, at least silver was saved. After all.
The German boat had proven its supremacy in the run-up. The gold candidates for batsman Ocik had won their race on Saturday with confidence and, like the Netherlands, made it straight to the final. With New Zealand's victory in the repechage race, four other boats had qualified for the showdown in Tokyo Bay. But appearances of superiority were deceptive.
Silver is another setback for the DRV.
Previously, only the lightweight double sculls Jonathan Rommelmann and Jason Osborne had won silver on Thursday.
Gold hope Oliver Zeidler failed completely by surprise in the single semifinals and only won his B final by a large margin on Friday.
But Zeidler was not happy, the disappointment about the missed final was too big.
There the Greek Stefanos Ntouskos surprisingly won gold with an Olympic best time.
“It will take me to cope with it,” said Zeidler, but announced the continuation of his career: “I definitely want to continue.
I do the same for my father, for all the work that he put into it. "
In addition, New Zealander Emma Twigg won in the women's one and Canada in the women's eight. In both competitions, German boats were not in the final. In Rio the DRV had booked two gold and one silver. A total of seven boats were at the start in Tokyo.