Single Surprises and German Dominance ? 2004 Bearing Point Rowing World Cup, Poznan

Germans Bertram & Streiber win gold in Poznan
© Getty Images/David Rogers

Germany did not just dominate they annihilated the competition at the first Bearing Point Rowing World Cup for the 2004 season. Poznan’s Malta Regatta Course saw three days of international racing as 30 countries raced for positions in today’s finals.

By the end of today Germany had won seven of the fourteen events with medals in all but one of the races. But this domination did not help two-time World Champion and current world silver medallist, Marcel Hacker of Germany. Hacker went into the final as one of the favourites but came away defeated by Estonia’s Jueri Jaanson. Jaanson, at 38 years old, caused the biggest upset of the day when he overtook the world’s top single scullers to gain his first World Cup medal in over a decade.

?It was a surprise for me also to be back on top again,? said a delighted Jaanson at the finish who last won a World Championship medal in 1990.

Germany, however, got their revenge in the women’s single when Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski dethroned current World Champion, Rumyana Neykova of Bulgaria. ?It’s my first big race after a long winter training,? said Rutschow-Stomporowski. ?I now know that my training has gone well.?

Denmark also had a good showing with wins in the lightweight men’s double and lightweight men’s four. The Danish four has dominated this event for the last two years and leads the way in Danish rowing.

Denmark and Great Britain tied for second overall in the final World Cup points tally with Great Britain also winning two events. The new look British men’s four showed that their latest line up is a force to be reckoned with when they led former World Champions Germany from start to finish.

British stroke Matthew Pinsent was happy with the outcome. ?We wanted to get off well and row our own race,? said Pinsent who admitted that they never felt under pressure from the Germans.

All athletes were quick to point out that this is just the start of the season with the big event being the Athens Olympics in August.

World Cup competition meets again in Munich, Germany from 27 to 29 May and then moves on to the third World Cup event in Lucerne, Switzerland from 18 to 20 June.