Fini Sturm (GER)

Rising Star – July 2015

Germany’s Fini Sturm has not yet turned 20, yet she has appeared on the international rowing scene already last year at the 2014 World Rowing Under 23 Championships. At these championships, her first international experience, she won gold in the lightweight women’s quadruple sculls.

This season, the up-and-coming athlete was selected to race in the senior lightweight women’s double sculls with the experienced Marie-Louise Draeger. Together they have already met with promising success, winning silver at the European Rowing Championships and bronze a few weeks later at World Rowing Cup II..

If I was not rowing, my sport would be… running, cross-country-skiing or triathlon. I like these, I am very good in endurance sports and I practice these regularly off-season.

I am a rower because… as a ten-year old-girl, I participated in an art competition for the World Rowing Junior Championships, which were held in 2005 in my native town Brandenburg. As one of the art competition winners my paintings were exhibited at the championships and I was given free admission to the heat races. I was fascinated by the races and afterwards started to row in the local rowing club the same summer.

My sporting hero is… I do not have a proper sporting hero. But I was very fascinated by Magdalena Neuner, one of the most popular German biathlon athletes. Some years ago, during a cross-country-skiing training camp in northern Italy with my rowing club, I was asked by a biathlon coach if I wouldn’t like to start with biathlon.

What motivates me most is… the feeling after having rowed a good race. Furthermore, the social environment within the boat and the training crew is an important motivation for me.

The result I am most proud of so far is… to have been nominated for the lightweight women’s double with Marie-Louise Draeger at the senior World Rowing Championships this year.

What I like about rowing in the lightweight double… While rowing the double you always have “your” partner who is always close to you within and outside the boat. For example, I eat a lot (and very slowly), but Marie will always wait patiently for me.

The rowing venue I like most… The World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Varese last summer was my first international competition and I was really taken by the international flair. This was similar for the European Rowing Championships in Poznan and for the World Rowing Cup II in Varese this year.

A typical day for me… cycling to university early in the morning (I study medicine in Berlin). In the afternoon, I cycle to my training sessions at the rowing centre. Back home, I usually cook a meal with my flatmate Eva, who is also a lightweight rower. The rest of the evening is mostly filled with home studies for university.

My favourite training session is… practicing short/sprint distances, because I like the concentrated effort during the sprints as well as the relaxing period of recovery which may be quite amusing.

On the erg, my best score so far is… 7:23.5 I know that this does not sound promising, but I only weigh around 54kg and am working really hard to improve my erg score.

When I am not rowing… I am most probably eating, sleeping or studying. But of course, I like to meet and phone my friends and family. I play the piano and enjoy baking.  

My non-rowing friends think… that I am a bit crazy and very tough because of the intense training in addition to the time-consuming medical studies.

In 2015… I am very happy to be nominated for the lightweight women’s double with Marie-Louise Dräger. We hope to qualify the German lightweight double for Rio and to get into the A-final.

In ten years’ time… I hope to be still able to combine competitive rowing with my professional interests.