Only a few more moves, then the goal of the 2000 meter long rowing distance is reached. The athlete gives everything, lets his boat fly over the water, the competition is close behind him. Suddenly the athlete gets dizzy. The oars slip out of his hands and he falls out of his boat into the water.
It’s a horror scenario that can happen, especially in competitions, as Dennis Poyda knows. “Like any athlete trying to win a competition, rowers often push themselves to the limit or beyond. But unlike marathon runners, collapsing rowers can drown if they fall into the water and aren’t rescued quickly enough.” Poyda is chairman of the local water rescue group Lohhof, which takes over the regatta rescue at the rowing course in Oberschleißheim at the European Championships in mid-August. To ensure that everything runs smoothly and, above all, quickly in an emergency, one of several exercises took place on Friday afternoon.
Water rescue chairman Dennis Poyda coordinates the emergency services.
(Photo: Alessandra Schellnegger)
There are around 115 rowing and 110 canoe races on the regatta course at the European Championships, where the best athletes in Europe will compete in a total of nine sports from August 11th to 21st. The facility, which was built for the 1972 Olympic Games, has fallen into disrepair over the past few years – a refurbishment failed due to a dispute between the city of Munich and the Free State over how the costs should be shared. The originally planned modernization for a total of around 100 million euros was initially completely canceled due to the financial uncertainties caused by the pandemic, before the city had at least part of the facility renovated for nine million on the occasion of the championships.
The grandstand of the regatta facility has been newly furnished for the European Championships.
(Photo: Alessandra Schellnegger)
For this sum, among other things, the benches in the grandstands were replaced and the paths were re-asphalted. Most of the wooden walkways are also new. On one of them, near the grandstand, a red boat is already waiting, the name shalo is emblazoned in black letters on the bow. It rocks gently when you get on, before it takes off in the direction of the finish line of the regatta course. The sun beats down mercilessly from the sky, the clear, turquoise water promises refreshment. One looks enviously at the members of the water rescue service, who are allowed to plunge into the cool water in wetsuits and diving equipment for practice purposes.
In an emergency, the rescuers also take care of the audience
The rescuers are preparing for a wide variety of missions, as Mathias Schreiber, Head of Regatta Rescue, explains. From circulatory collapse to hyperventilation to rowing injuries – “we are prepared for all possible injury patterns”. Not just those that can happen on the water: the team also takes care of the spectators. “Rescue from a single source” is the name of this concept, which the Lohhof water rescue service developed around 30 years ago. “Everyone knows who is responsible for what and what needs to be done where,” explains Schreiber. “All processes are known to everyone.” According to Poyda, up to 40 members of the lifeguard will be on duty at the championships. Preparations for the major event have been underway since November. Experienced emergency services are to refresh their knowledge and learn new ones through training.
Mathias Schreiber is head of regatta rescue and is prepared for all possible accident scenarios.
(Photo: Alessandra Schellnegger)
Before things get serious that afternoon, Poyda explains the procedure to the rescue workers gathered at the finish line: The feet of the rowers are often tied to the boat, so before the rescue you have to check whether the fastening has already been loosened. Only then can the injured person be pulled safely into the lifeboat. “Although there is a need for urgency, it must never become so hectic that a mistake occurs,” says Poyda. For example, one must also be careful not to damage the boat of the rower who had an accident when starting off – an eight can cost several tens of thousands of euros.
Rescuers approach the capsized boat.
(Photo: Alessandra Schellnegger/)
Two girls have agreed to mime athletes who have had an accident. They row along the route in their narrow two-person boat before capsizing the vehicle and sliding into the water. A command arrives on the jetty, and two boats from the lifeguard immediately shoot to the scene of the accident. The spray sprays, the rescuers only slow down just before the two girls, and then approach very carefully. Now it has to be quick: a rescue normally takes just two minutes, explains Schreiber.
A girl mimicking an injured person is lifted ashore with a sling.
(Photo: Alessandra Schellnegger/)
A rescuer in a wetsuit jumps into the water, grabs the first girl under her arms, and pulls her backwards toward her coworkers’ boat. The second casualty is grabbed by the arms and pulled out of the water by two rescue workers. The lifeboats quickly glide back to the jetty, where other lifeguard members are already waiting. With perfectly coordinated handles, they grab the slings on which the casualties are lying and lift them onto the waiting rescue tub. Laughing, the girls stand up after a successful rescue, trembling slightly from the cool water.
The flag of the European Championships is already waving on the regatta course.
(Photo: Alessandra Schellnegger/)
Of course, the members of the water rescue team hope for quiet championships with as few stakes as possible. At the same time, they are also looking forward to the big event, as Schreiber says. There had been no such events for a long time, and in the meantime not even exercises or meetings could have taken place – not a good time for the lifeguard members, for whom their comrades are like a second family, according to the writer. “We’ve already missed something.” The joy of the championships is all the greater: “I think it will be a really great event.”