Titelbild EUC Rudern 2022

EUC Rowing 2022 in Istanbul

  • Datum: 06. - 09.09.2022
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    With the largest team so far, the university rowing team from Karlsruhe competed at the EUC in Istanbul on the Golden Horn. Nine women competed in the eight and the four without coxswain, 12 men crewed an eight and a double four. Originally, the EUC was intended as a classic regatta, over the Olympic distance of 2000m, with preliminary heats, hope heats and finals spread over three days. However, already one week before the first race the distance was shortened to 1000m. The weather was a further obstacle for the organizers. Due to strong winds, the heats on Wednesday could not take place and were replaced by time trials on Thursday. In this mode the boats with the fastest 6 times qualify directly for the finals. All four boats from Karlsruhe were able to get their final ticket for Friday in this mode. The men's eight even managed to burn the fastest time of the regatta on the track. On the final day, the double four was the first to take to the water. The boat with stroke Adrian Mengedoht, Moritz Kopp, Lukas Kucharek and Martin Kansy could not keep up the high speed of the leaders in the duel with the international competition and reached the 5th place. For the women's eight with coxswain Sofa de Witt Curtius, stroke Victoria Karl, Luise Münch, Nina Öhlkers, Barbara Thiele, Esther Linner, Lisa Merz, Friederike Münch and Aileen Vögeli it was a matter of confirming the 2nd place from the time trial. Although the "FrAchter" had to let the strong women from the Charles University in Prague go, they were able to keep their 2nd place and win the Germany-internal duel against Hanover. Victoria Karl, Luise Münch, Esther Linner and Barbara Thiele then competed again in the four without. After the exhausting race in the eight, the four could not keep up with the first three boats from the Netherlands and Great Britain and, despite a strong final sprint, only achieved the wooden medal. Traditionally, the men's eight forms the conclusion of a regatta, and this was also the case here. The crew consisting of coxswain Sofia de Witt Curtius, Marvin Rüdt, Karl Draper, Jonas Fitz, Raphael Mühlpfort, Rupert Pretzler, Lars von Deyn, Philip Thein and Adrian Seiler fought a thrilling duel with the Lyon eight all the way to the finish line. In the end, it was the silver medal for the team from Karlsruhe, which was also able to relegate the German competition from Aachen to fourth place. Special mention should be made of Arian Elter, who traveled to Istanbul as coach, and Lenz Kiefer, our substitute. Last but not least we would like to mention our volunteer Aylin from Istanbul, who guided us safely through the turmoil of Istanbul. Rarely has the EUC been held on such a special course as this time. The races with a view of the Hagia Sophia in the middle of the city were very special for all participants. Unfortunately, the conditions on site made it very difficult for the organizers to hold the regatta. Not only wind and waves were a problem, but also the conditions on site did not actually offer enough space for a regatta with a good 500 participants. The accommodation in the student dormitories on the campus of Yeditepe University 25km away from the course on the other side of the Bosporus proved to be a logistical challenge. As a result, the teams spent almost four hours a day on the bus in the heavy traffic of Istanbul. Nevertheless, we are happy that the organizers made such an effort to put the event on its feet. It was great to be introduced to Istanbul, the history of the Golden Horn and Turkish culture and to meet students from 16 countries. After this successful regatta, the team will take a short and late summer break. In the winter semester we will start training again. We hope for a lot of new blood, for the EUC in Poland next year we have qualified a record number of boats.