Germany tests at Huegelregatta

Buschbacher has paired Germany’s top two scullers, Karsten Brodowski and Marcel Hacker in the double and they were favoured to win. But a back injury meant Hacker could not race. Eric Knittel and Stephan Krueger instead dominated the field in front of Hans Gruhne and Clemens Wenzel. Slovenian brothers Luka with younger brother Jan finished fifth in this competitive field.

The top four German men’s pairs from recent trials teamed up to race in fours and finished a close first and second. Sitting in the first placed boat was Gregor Hauffe, Urs Kaufer, Filip Adamski and Menningen. Slovenia finished third.

From the doubles and fours racing, Buschbacher then selected eights and quads. The women’s eight was won by Marlene Sinnig, Kerstin Hartmann, Katrin Reinert, Kathrin Thiem, Nadine Schmutzler, Christina Hennings, Kerstin Naumann, Ankia Kniest with coxswain Laura Schwensen who finished ahead of the second German boat.

In the men’s eight, the two leading fours joined together to raced against Poland’s crew. After a very strong start the German boat found a good rhythm and was able to move away from Poland, pushed by stroke Sebastian Schmidt. The German men won the race by more than three lengths over Poland with the under 23 German eight finishing third.

After a tough selection process amongst the German squad, the women’s quad was won by Germany’s Annekatrin Thiele, Stefanie Schiller, Christiane Huth and Peggy Waleska.

The men’s quad was won by Wenzel, Gruhne, Krueger and Knittel. In the lightweight men’s four Denmark dominated over the German “brothers” boat of the Schoemann-Finck and the Kuehner brothers on the first day of racing. But on day two the Germans prevailed. Both of these crews will race again at the Rowing World Cup in Banyoles at the end of this month.

Greece’s Olympic medal crew, Vasileios Polymeros and Dimitrios Mougios, won the lightweight men’s double despite a strong challenge from Germany.

German rowers will trial again in Ratzeburg in two weeks time and after that the national squad is to be selected for the second Rowing World Cup to be raced in Munich, Germany in June.

Copy thanks to German Rowing press officer, Oliver Palme.