Tufte and Crew End Norwegian Dry Spell in Sweden

2001 World Singles Sculls Champion Olaf Tufte swapped his single for the eight last weekend and helped secure victory for the Horten Rowing club from Norway in the traditional Götaälvrodden regatta.

A crew from Norway has not won this Swedish regatta in 10 years, and it was long overdue says Tufte of the victory, “It took a solid effort form the whole club to win but it was about time that a Norwegian team won the race.”

The Horten men’s eight boat covered the 20 km distance along the Götaälv river, the largest in Sweden, in 1 hr, 3 minutes and 49 seconds. Second place went to the Falkenberg rowing club of Sweden who clocked 1:05.01 with the crew from Mölndals rowing club (Sweden) crossing the finish line in Gothenburg harbour 30 seconds later.

For this year’s 50^th edition 14 club eights from Sweden, Norway and Denmark took the start for the main race, the Akzo Nobel Blue Ribbon event.

Meanwhile, World Championship and Olympic rower Maria Brandin of Sweden was trying her hand in the event reserved for traditional “Tiohuggare”, or traditional navy lifeboats. And successfully so, as Brandin and her crew of 10 rowers raced the 10 km in a time of 41:28 earning them the first place.

These fixed seat life boats represent quite a change for an athlete whose rowing career was spent in the single scull “It was a positive experience of teamwork and a solid amount of fitness is required to win the race. “ said Brandin of her experience.

The Götaälvrodden regatta, which traditionally marks the end of the Swedish rowing season, has attracted international crews to Gothenburg since its creation in 1953.