Bronze in the lightweight skiff – rower Struzina ensures the 1st Swiss medal in Munich – Sport

  • Andri Struzina rows to bronze in the lightweight singles at the European Championships.
  • For the 25-year-old it is the first international medal among the elite.
  • At the same time, Struzina takes care of the 1st Swiss medal in Munich.

On the 4th day of the European Championships in Munich, Switzerland got the longed-for medal. Rower Andri Struzina showed an excellent performance in the non-Olympic lightweight singles final, which was rewarded with the bronze medal.

In the 5-man final field – the Bulgarian Lazar Penev had to declare a forfait at short notice – Struzina was on course for a medal right from the start. Together with the Greek Antonis Papakonstantinou and the Italian Gabriel Soares, the Swiss quickly pulled away from his two competitors. Halfway through the race, the only question was which podium Struzina would row to the finish line on.

In the 3rd quarter of the race, Struzina then had to let his two competitors go, so that he was able to limit himself to rowing the bronze medal to the finish line in the last meters. Papakonstantinou secured gold ahead of Soares.

Advertised the double scull in the skiff

Struzina’s success is all the more astonishing because the boat from Zug was only used in this boat class because it hadn’t made it into the Swiss EM boat for the lightweight double scull. “I think I can be super happy with this 3rd place,” said a satisfied Struzina at the finish. When asked about the double scull, the bronze winner said: “Our coach looks very closely at the results. A 3rd place at an EM is certainly good advertising.»

Jan Schäuble, Raphaël Ahumada and Struzina have been fighting for the two places in the Swiss lightweight double scull in the last few weeks. All possible combinations were rowed during the season. In the end, Struzina was left behind – but could now console herself with a bronze medal in the skiff. Schäuble/Ahumada also want to grab a medal in the double sculls final on Sunday.

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