Karlsruhe students win silver twice in Moscow

Karlsruhe students win silver twice in Moscow

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Rowers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) successfully competed at the 7th European University Rowing Championships in Moscow last week. The races were held on the Olympic regatta course "Krylatskoe" from 1980. In ideal weather conditions, a total of 13 nations with over 450 athletes in 21 boat classes competed for the championship titles over the Olympic rowing distance of 2000m. The German University Sports Association (adh) sent its best teams in
sent its best teams from 14 universities to the start in 19 boat classes.
Already at the beginning of July, the two Karlsruhe boats had qualified for the European University Championship (EUC) by winning the German University Championship (DHM) in Bremen. After intensive and hard weeks of preparation with a lot of joint training, the Karlsruhe students looked forward to the competitions in Moscow full of excitement and impatience.
The men's double with Heiko Gulan and Simon Schiml could be pleased about a full registration field. France, Poland, Lithuania, Russia and especially Ukraine provided their best athletes, which meant that the German boat had to qualify for the final via a preliminary heat. With a sovereign start-finish victory, the two athletes from Karlsruhe moved directly into the final on Wednesday.dsf
The women's double four with Lisa Maria Bode, Ulrike Schwarz, Julia Johannsmeier and stroke Vera Dohmen could compete with four opponents from Russia (two boats), Poland and Great Britain. In the lane distribution race, the four women from Karlsruhe demonstrated their starting speed and led the field with Russia 1. With the second place they secured one of the coveted middle lanes for the final and looked forward to it with confidence.
On the final day, the Moscow weather showed its best side. Sun, pleasant 18°C and a light shifting wind suggested a perfect race day. Heiko Gulan and Simon Schiml started first in the morning. With a high stroke rate, which was above the actually trained stroke rate, the two men showed determination as well as the will to win and proved their extraordinary quality. At the finish they only had to admit defeat to the strong Ukrainians, who put themselves in front of the German boat with a phenomenal final sprint. Silver for Karlsruhe.
After a short lunch break, the women's double four got ready to represent the KIT colors in a worthy manner. As in the track race, the Russian boat 1 was also very strong in the final race and passed the Karlsruhe team by the halfway point of the course. In the fight for second place, the German boat was able to fend off the attack of the Polish women from the University of Bydgoscsz with an energetic spurt and secured the runner-up title by a wide margin.
With a total of 11 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals, a very successful EUC came to an end for the 80-strong German delegation. In the history of the European University Championships, Moscow is the venue furthest away from Germany and was therefore both financially and organizationally the most elaborate championship so far. The two teams would like to thank their coach Ralf Thanhäuser, their main sponsor THOST Projektmanagement and the many private supporters who made this successful championship participation possible.

Lisa Maria Bode, Vera Dohmen

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