International match atmosphere right from the start and a heart-stopping final

The strong final spurt by Célia Dupré/Lisa Lötscher

The international atmosphere first arose shortly after 10.30 am. Célia Dupré/Lisa Lötscher took to the water with the clear goal of reaching the A final for the first time in their second regatta together, after finishing in 7th place two weeks ago in Varese after winning the B final. The two Swiss women improved massively as the race progressed and were already in 3rd place after three quarters of the distance, which was good enough for the final. It got even better and, cheered on by strong chants of “Hopp Schwiz”, they crossed the finish line in 2nd place after a strong final spurt, behind Romania but well ahead of Croatia. They received a standing ovation on their way back to the start zone.

Jonah Plock/Patrick Brunner confirm their strong form

The scenario was repeated shortly afterwards. Jonah Plock and Patrick Brunner were also able to improve and only had to concede to the Romanians at the finish. Two weeks after their 3rd place in Varese, they have thus confirmed their strong form and are once again in the A final. They were also able to make significant gains in the second part of the race and need not fear anyone in the final sprint.

Salome Ulrich/Fabienne Schweizer narrowly miss the A final

The finish area in the women’s double sculls shook to its foundations. Salome Ulrich/Fabienne Schweizer were “hunting” for the last place in the final, which was held by the US-Americans. After 1500 meters, the Lucerne women were still in last place, but their sprinting strength meant that they could not yet be written off. And indeed, they fired the turbo, overtook two teams and came close to third place, but the final coup was not quite successful and in the end they were 13 hundredths short of reaching the A final.

Kai Schätzle/Raphael Ahumada safely on again

As in the preliminary heat, Kai Schätzle/Raphael Ahumada also showed a controlled race in the semi-final. As on the previous day, the winners from Varese were unable to keep up with the Serbs at the start and were once again unable to catch up with the strong duo of Martin Mackovic/Nikolaj Pimenov, but their qualification for the final was never in danger. Overall, they recorded the fourth-fastest time.

Emotional presentation of the Thomas Keller Medal

The first highlight of the day was the presentation of the Thomas Keller Medal. The award, which is presented every year for an outstanding achievement in rowing, this time went to Richard Schmidt, the heart and soul of the German eight for many years. The lovingly designed video that accompanied the presentation visibly touched the 38-year-old from Trier, as he admitted in his acceptance speech: “I don’t know what to say, this is the icing on the cake. But the medal would not have been possible without my team and also not without the team behind the team. Coaches, doctors, staff, my family, especially my wife.”

A big final fireworks display on Sunday

The first of nine B finals starts at 9.30 am on Sunday. After a break, the Para finals will follow, where Switzerland has a hot iron in the fire thanks to Claire Ghiringhelli. Finally, the ten A finals will conclude the sporting part of the event.

After that, however, there is no reason to leave the Rotsee area. Noah Parks will be delighting rowing fans with his infectious rhythms from 2 p.m. to round off the Rotsee Edition 2025.