German rowing reshuffle looks to the future

The German Rowing Federation has undergone a major post-Beijing Olympics reorganisation following their worst performance at an Olympic Games in decades.

President of the German Rowing Federation, Siegfried Kaidel said the reorganisation was to ensure that German rowing becomes the best in the world again by the 2012 London Olympics. Kaidel said that after the results in Beijing it was clear that reorganisation and a more professional approach was necessary.

Germany won two medals at the Beijing Olympics – silver in the women’s double and bronze in the women’s quad – the worst result for the country in many years. They have made it a goal to win four golds at the 2012 Olympics.

The lead up to Beijing did not go smoothly for Germany when major changes to their priority boat, the men’s eight, were made just two months out from the Olympics. These changes included replacing six out of the eight crew members and changing the coach.

The search for a new coach began before the Olympics and last week Hartmut Buschbacher was selected. Former East German coach, Buschbacher has been based in the United States but since 2006 he has been coaching in China. He became a national team coach in the United States in 1991 and coached the women’s sweep team for both the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.

Renko Schmidt has been appointed as a full time secretary general. Frank Schuetrumpf will coordinate the competitive side. Michael Mueller remains as sports director with his role changing to a more administrative one.

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