Top-class rowing on the final day of LUCERNE REGATTA

27 races – 13 B and 14 A finals – were scheduled on the third day of the LUCERNE REGATTA. All good things come in threes, as the weather conditions on the Rotsee were pleasant throughout the regatta.

Beautiful, not too hot weather and as usual good water prevailed on the Lucerne Göttersee. In addition, especially on Sunday during the final races, there was a large number of spectators – with an enthusiastic audience that created a great atmosphere and cheered on the athletes.

Most successful rowing nations

The delegation from Great Britain was the dominant rowing nation on Lake Rot. No less than 8 medals – six of them gold and one silver and one bronze – went to the British island. The Australian, Italian and Romanian representatives performed convincingly, winning six medals. Germany had to be content with 3 medals, but set an extremely positive, not necessarily expected sign by winning the women’s single.

Final decisions

In the women’s skiff, Jeannine Gmelin took over the command from the Chinese Ling Zhang, who was leading at the beginning, after 1000 meters. For a long time it seemed that the Ustermerin could defend her lead until the finish. On the last 200 meters the German Alexandra Foester came from the fourth intermediate place quasi out of nowhere and – with the Australian Tara Rigney in tow – still overtook the Swiss. However, third place and the bronze medal win showed that Jeannine Gmelin is on a good path with regard to the upcoming title fights for the European Championships and the World Championships.

In the men’s race, Britain’s Graeme Thomas took the race scepter in his hands after 500 meters. The Bulgarian Kristian Vasilev followed on his heels and for a long time gave the impression of being able to seriously threaten the Briton. In the end, however, the Briton was able to pull away and take home the win with a clear lead. Behind Vasilev, Germany’s Marc Weber secured bronze.

The Croatian brothers Valent and Martin Sinkovic, who have returned to the double sculls this season – as winners of the first two World Cup races in Belgrade and Poznan they are used to winning anyway – lived up to their role as favorites. In the meantime, the Australians Caleb Antill/David Bartholot put on a lot of pressure. When the Croatians increased the pace, the Australians had to let go. Second place for the Aussies and third place for the surprising Spaniards, who caught up with the Lithuanians, were recorded at the finish.

In the women’s double sculls the Germans Pia Greiten and Frauke Hundeling went all in and were only replaced by the Romanians Simona Radis/Ancuta Bodnar at the 1000 meter mark. The Olympic champions from Tokyo did not leave anything to be desired and dominated clearly. The Italians Stefania Gobbi/Kiri Tontodonati secured silver, the Lithuanians Dovile Rimkute/Donata Kareliene – already third during the whole race – took third place.

The women’s double sculls started the races for the A-finals. The Olympic champions from New Zealand, Kerri Williams/Grace Prendergast, beat the Romanians, who had been coming on strong lately, by a razor-thin margin in a thrilling finish.

In the men’s counterpart, the British boat with Thomas George and Oliver Wynne-Griffith – both still in the eight at the Tokyo Olympics – clearly prevailed against the boats from Australia and Serbia.

The Chinese – otherwise the boats of the nation with the largest delegation usually rowed behind – overwhelmingly won the women’s double four. Great Britain and Italy followed on the places. Unfortunately, the Swiss women’s double sculls, which were affected by Corona and were not able to register for the regatta, did not take part.

A start-to-finish victory in the men’s double four was achieved by the Poles. From the start they took the top position. In the last quarter of the course they were overtaken by the Romanians, but the Italians, who were always in second place, finally secured the silver medal. The Romanians remained in third place.

The British, Australians and Romanians delivered a thrilling race in the men’s four-boat-less, which also crossed the finish line in this order.

In the women’s race, the favored British women put their stamp on the race right from the start. They won far ahead of the Romanians and the New Zealanders.

In the only Olympic lightweight boat class, Great Britain’s Madeleine Fiona Arlett/Emily Craig narrowly won against France’s Claire Bove/Laura Tarantola, who have been coming on strong recently. The Olympic champions from Italy, Federica Cesarini/Valentina Rodini, had to settle for the third medal place, clearly distanced.

In the men’s event, the two Swiss Raphael Ahumada/Andri Struzina led the field for a long time. A surprise seemed possible. Only in the last 250 meters they had to admit defeat to the two boats from Italy (Gabriel Soares/Pietro Ruta and Stefano Oppo/Niels Torre) and the Norwegians Tjoerm/Benske. A performance that exudes confidence for upcoming tasks. However, the Swiss – including Jan Schäuble, who is rowing in the project – did not let themselves be deprived of the victory in the overall category ranking.

 

In the women’s eight, the Canadians set the pace for a long time. At 1,250 meters, the Australians took the lead and extended it to the finish line for an unchallenged victory. The Canadians and the Romanians secured their place on the podium and thus the other medal sets.

The British eight put its stamp on the men’s eight race right from the start and did not show any weakness. The newly formed German eight kept up well for a long time, moved up to 2nd place at 1,500 meters, only to be relegated to 3rd place by the Australians.

The final day of the other Swiss boats

Salome Ulrich from Seeclub Luzern, who was supposed to start in the Swiss women’s double four project, was the only one of the crew to be spared from Corona and started in the skiff. In the B-final she had to let her competitors go after half of the race and finished the race on the 6th place.

The first Swiss boat to start in the series of B finals was the men’s double-one with Maurin Lange (Seeclub Luzern) and Jonah Plock (Ruderclub Rapperswil-Jona) for places 7 to 12. Still mixing well after the start, the two athletes, who are competing in their first World Cup season, fell back continuously. The 12th place in the overall ranking was the result.

The men’s double four with Jan Schäuble, Patrick Brunner, Nils Schneider and Dominic Condrau fought with the crews from Estonia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic for the best finish towards the finish line in a balanced race that left all results open for a long time. At the very end the young Swiss had to give way to these crews. The 4th place gives hope for the upcoming European and World Championship title fights, especially since Kai Schätzle, who normally sits on the beat, dropped out for the LUCERNE REGATTA due to illness.

Jürg Trittibach