Franz Werner from Pirna won the national championship title at the German Premiere of the new Olympic discipline Coastal Rowing (coastal rowing) on a larger stage.
In the women’s competition of the multisport event, the finals in Dresden prevailed the Mainz native Laura Brenker on the banks of the Elbe. Double-four Olympic champion and local hero Karl Schulze (37) ended his active career with bronze.
“It wasn’t everything technically perfect, but otherwise it was one of the best races of my career,” said Schulze after the competition on ZDF and raved about the “dream backdrop. I don’t know how many fans I know. I stopped counting at some point. Mega, here at home.”
Werner already looked into the future: “Olympics are the goal of every athlete, but it is still a long way. So far it looks good. But stay calm, step by step.”
The coordinatively demanding Coastal Rowing, which will be part of the Olympic Summer Games program for the first time in 2028 in Los Angeles, usually takes place on beaches of oceans or lakes with the appropriate waves. In Dresden, however, the active people had to sprint into their special boats into their special boats, then row 125 m with and against the current and after returning to the shore to the starting point of the race.