Huegel Regatta hints at early season pace

Early season 2000m racing proved popular in Essen, Germany with 20 nations taking part in the bi-annual Huegel Regatta. Raced on Essen’s Baldeneysee, more than 1500 rowers took part ranging from international and national team rowers to top under-23s as well as those relatively new to the sport. 

This regatta is always popular in a pre-Olympic year as international rowing federations make the most of big races to test their athletes in the lead up to this year’s World Rowing Championships when countries will aim to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games.

With participants from throughout Europe as well as China, South Africa and the United States, the 96th International Huegel Regatta gave an early season indication to potential fast boats in the lead up to the Samsung World Rowing Cup to be held in Munich, Germany later this month. The format of two days of finals also gave coaches a chance to vary their line ups and look at different combinations. 

The United States boated two women’s quadruple sculls. On the first day of finals the United States took first and second spots in the quad. On the second day, however, Germany boated a quad and pushed the Americans into second and third spots. 

Germany’s top single sculler, Marcel Hacker raced on the first day of finals in the men’s single scull. Hacker easily beat fellow-German, Hans Gruhne with Belgium’s best rower, Tim Maeyens coming in third. In the absence of Hacker on day two, Maeyens took an easy gold ahead of Robert Herman of Hungary. 

Greece made quite a mark in a number of events. They won the men’s pair on both days – but with different rowers and also took out the men’s four on day one before coming in second to the German entry on day two. Top lightweight sculler, Alexandra Tsiavou of Greece was the fastest in the lightweight women’s single on both days, leaving some new names from China in her wake. Pedro Fraga, from Portugal’s successful lightweight men’s double, raced in the lightweight men’s single and, like Tsiavou, Fraga claimed gold on both days. 

The women’s single saw Xiuyun Zhang of China take line honours on day two. Zhang, one of China’s most successful woman rowers, retired in 2009 but this race indicates that she may be making a comeback. Zhang also raced on day one, this time in the women’s double sculls with Fei Wang. Together they finished first, ahead of Germany’s very competent Britta Oppelt and Julia Richter. 

The men’s double sculls looked like German seat racing on day one. Last year’s combination of Stephan Kruger and Eric Knittel proved their worth by finishing first ahead of the other German boats. This potentially earned Kruger and Knittel a spot for Munich in this event. 

Coming all of the way from South Africa proved fruitful for their lightweight men’s four. The South Africans finished first on both days warding off boats from Japan, China, the Czech Republic and France in their golden finishes. 

Germany’s head coach Hartmut Buschbacher tested his World Champion men’s eight on the second day and, despite some adjustments to last year’s line up, the crew finished first ahead of France and the Czech Republic. 

Full results here.