Germany Dominates and Turkey Makes History - Under 23 Regatta

The German men's eight celebrate being overall winners
© FISA

Three days of racing later Germany finished as the overall winners at the World Rowing Under 23 Regatta in Poznan, Poland when they earned an impressive 79 points to put them at the top of the points table.

These points came from six gold medals starting with a win by Magdalena Schmude in the women's single and finishing when the German men's eight crossed the line a full boat length ahead of the rest of the field in the last race of finals day. The Germans completed their medal haul with top three finishes in 13 of the 19 events.

Australia made the trip from the southern hemisphere worth it by earning enough points to rank second overall. The medal tally included gold for the men's coxed four when they out-rowed the might of Great Britain and Germany in one of the tightest finishes of the day which had four boats all sprinting for gold at the line.

Ahmet Yumrukaya and Emre Vural went down in Turkey's sporting history when they won the first ever international rowing gold medal for their country. Yumrukaya and Vural raced the lightweight pair against favourites Germany and Italy and their gutsy performance put them in the middle of the medals podium.

Nearly 600 athletes from 45 countries took part in the regatta which included a large contingent of former junior champions and a number of athletes that competed last week at the World Rowing Junior and Senior World Championships.

Next year's Under 23 Regatta will be raced on the recently revamped Bosbaan in Amsterdam, the Netherlands from 22 – 24 July 2005.