At the World Cup finals on the Rotsee, the German rowers are really challenged for the first time this season. The Germany eight also feels that. At the start of the dress rehearsal for the home European Championship in Munich, the big boat had to be content with second place.
The Germany Eight suffered a setback at the start of the World Cup finals on the Rotsee in Lucerne. In the run-up to the traditional regatta, the newly formed and greatly rejuvenated parade boat of the German Rowing Association (DRV) had to admit defeat for the first time this season. The crew around batsman Mattes Schönherr (Potsdam) finished half a boat length behind Australia, but nevertheless went straight into the final on Sunday. However, Uwe Bender's disappointment with second place was limited. "We have achieved our minimum goal and saved ourselves the repechage," commented the eighth coach calmly.
Unlike three weeks ago at the World Cup in Poznań with a victory over Australia, the Germans were only left behind this time. After just 500 meters, the gap was one second. All attempts by the DRV team, which had changed to six positions compared to the previous year, to close the gap with an intermediate sprint were unsuccessful. "This time the Australians turned the tables. They started aggressively and we found it difficult to attack again," said Bender.
The two German singles provided the bright spots in the 14 Olympic boat classes. Marc Weber (Giessen) made the loss of Oliver Zeidler, who was suffering from a cold, forget and won his lead effortlessly. Weber seemed surprised that he even distanced the world-class skuller Damir Martin from Croatia: "Recently I was too slow in one. If I want to have a chance, I have to classify myself and show where I stand."
Alexandra Föster was just as convincing. The only 20-year-old rowing talent from Meschede went straight into the semi-finals with a win. The preliminary second Max Appel and Moritz Wolff (Magdeburg / Berlin) also succeeded in the double scull. In the non-Olympic boat classes, Marie-Louise Dräger (Rostock) underscored her ambitions to take part in the finals with her preliminary success in the easy one.
For the DRV team, the showdown in Lucerne is a dress rehearsal for the home European Championship from August 11th to 13th in Munich. In contrast to the second World Cup regatta in mid-June in Poznań, almost all leading rowing nations are represented on the Rotsee. DRV head coach Brigitte Bielig wants to draw "nomination conclusions for the European Championship and the World Cup" from the results. The World Championships will take place in Racice, Czech Republic, from September 18th to 25th.
