Sunday April 11, 2021
Update
Zeidler wins gold
Germany eight collects EM disgrace
Everything but gold does not count: The Germany eight is extremely obsessed with success. Fourth place at the European Rowing Championships is tantamount to a great embarrassment. The team missed the ninth European title in a row despite their initial dominance. Oliver Zeidler does it better.
The Germany eight suffered a bitter setback at the start of the Olympic season and missed the ninth European title in a row. The flagship of the German Rowing Association (DRV) had to be content with fourth place in Varese / Italy when Olympic champion Great Britain won. One world champion, Oliver Zeidler, won gold for the second time in his career.
The eighth, who had recently become world champion three times in a row, dominated the race in the first 1000 meters, but fell behind the second-placed Romanians and the Netherlands in the final sprint. In the lane distribution race on Friday, the crew around batsman Hannes Ocik was only fourth. For the German parade boat, it was the first bankruptcy in final races in title fights since the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
“That’s sobering,” said Ocik. But the team can’t blame itself, “we have used all means that are currently available to us. We missed the final punch in the last 500 m and we went off course. We have to let that sink in and analyze it calmly. ”
“Went well for me”
Zeidler didn’t give the competition a chance and prevailed with half a boat length over last year’s winner Sverri Nielsen (Denmark) and the Polish Natan Wegrzycki-Szymczyk. The whiz kid switched from swimming to rowing in 2016 and became world and European champion just three years later.
“The final went well for me. But I’m not completely satisfied with my performance and have to keep working,” said the 24-year-old with a view to the Olympic Games (23 July to 8 August): “The final in Tokyo could go the same way, but there is still a long way to go. “
As in the previous year, Jason Osborne and Jonathan Rommelmann won silver. The duo, who had won EM gold in 2019, landed in the lightweight double scull in the final behind world champion Ireland and secured the first medal of the day for the DRV in the Olympic classes. The women’s quadruple also took bronze.
The DRV athletes competed in twelve of the 14 Olympic classes in Varese, with six boats making it to the finals. At last year’s European Championships, the German rowers won gold once and silver three times.
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