rowing
Eighth back to the top of the world – bronze for women’s double sculls
The DRV eight won silver at the European Championships in Szeged. photo
© Tamas Kovacs/MTI/AP/dpa
The German eight is gaining courage for Paris 2024. Second place at the European Rowing Championships in Hungary brings the long-awaited medal. There is also reason to be happy in another boat.
Courageous start, courageous finale – the long wait for a medal is over for the German eight. With second place at the European Championships Szeged, the parade boat of the German Rowing Association (DRV), managed to make it into the top three in an internationally important regatta for the first time since silver in Tokyo 2021.
The crew around batsman Hannes Ocik (Schwerin) only had to admit defeat to world champion Great Britain in Hungary, but – unlike at the start of the title fights two days earlier – left the competitors from Romania and Italy behind.
“The first race woke us up. We had to be hard on ourselves and showed a good reaction. That makes us want more,” enthused Ocik. Teammate Torben Johannesen reacted similarly euphorically: “We were much more committed and drove at a consistently high pace. That’s the key to being at the front. It was a very strong team performance.”
Only half a boat length behind Great Britain
Despite the difficult conditions with a strong headwind, the fifth-place finisher put on a remarkable performance. As demanded by national coach Sabine Tschäge after the weak race on Thursday, the team did not give in after a good 1000 meters, but showed stamina and fended off the Romanians’ attack. The fact that the gap to the British, who had been dominant for years, was only half a boat length in the end gave everyone involved encouragement for the Olympic Games in Paris.
The women’s double sculls also achieved a respectable success. Third place for the team led by batswoman Pia Greiten (Osnabrück) gave the DRV its second European Championship medal in the 14 Olympic competition classes. Only the teams from Great Britain and Ukraine were faster. “The medal is a good self-confidence boost,” commented the exhausted Greitens.
Zeidler underlines his claim to a third European Championship title
Oliver Zeidler continues on the road to success. The single world champion from Munich moved into the final on Sunday (2:10 p.m.) with a semi-final victory. Even Olympic champion Stefanos Ntouskos from Greece couldn’t keep up with the 27-year-old’s high starting pace and was a boat length behind at the finish. Zeidler thus underlined his claim to the third European Championship title after 2019 and 2021.
But it wasn’t as easy as it seemed for Zeidler. The strong headwind required more effort than planned. In his opinion, there is still a lot of work to do before Paris: “I notice that I am not yet in top shape and am not yet bursting with strength.”
Alexandra Föster from Meschede, who had already qualified directly for the final two days earlier with a heat win, could ensure another DRV medal in the single sculls.
There has been notable progress in the men’s double sculls. With the semi-final victory over Italy, the Hessian duo Jonas Gelsen and Marc Weber (Frankfurt/Main/Marburg) climbed into the circle of medal candidates.