Two training camps were supposed to help the German eight-man team to close the gap to the world’s best. But in the Olympic preliminary round, the crew is lagging far behind.
A bitter setback instead of the longed-for turnaround – the Olympic rowing regatta began with a worrying defeat for the once glorious German eight. As in the poor season so far, the crew around stroke Mattes Schönherr (Potsdam) was also far behind the world’s best in the preliminary round of Paris 2024.
After the sobering third place, the DRV flagship boat has to go into the repechage. “Now we have our backs against the wall, we have to throw everything into the balance and keep believing in ourselves,” commented eight-man coach Sabine Tschäge, looking ahead to the second chance on Thursday, when four more final starting places will be awarded.
Several boat lengths behind
Even though the fifth-placed team at the World Championships saved energy and slowed down at the end of the hopeless battle against the victorious boat from the USA and the competition from the Netherlands, Tschäge made no secret of her disappointment at the large deficit of several boat lengths: “We are not satisfied because we did not do what we could do much, much better in training.”
All hopes for a positive effect from the two training camps in Völkermarkt (Austria) and Ratzeburg have so far proved to be wishful thinking. The gap to the world’s best still seems as big as it was at the Olympic dress rehearsal weeks ago on the Rotsee in Paris. After this performance, it is rather unlikely that a turnaround will be achieved in the Stade Nautique east of Paris.
Contact with the two leading boats was lost even before the 1,000-meter mark, although the DRV team was still trying to catch up at a high rate at this point. “Ideally, we would have liked to have been in the running for first place. We didn’t manage that,” admitted helmsman Jonas Wiesen (Treis-Karden). “The gap doesn’t look good – and it doesn’t feel good either.”
Hope run as a real indicator
Striker Schönherr has not yet given up his belief in a happy ending: “We have trained well in the last few weeks and know that we can do it. Now it’s time to show that on the big stage.”
For the repechage, everyone involved promised maximum concentration and unconditional commitment. “Nobody will be playing tactics anymore. We have to make sure that we have all the components together from the start. Otherwise it will be difficult for us,” said Tschäge.
Unlike in the eights, the mood in the men’s quadruple sculls was brilliant. In contrast to the preliminary round, the team from the once medal-winning boat class put in a courageous performance. The victory in the repechage just ahead of Switzerland and Norway gave the DRV second place in the final after the women’s quadruple sculls. A total of seven German boats are competing in Paris.
Source: Stern
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