After an encouraging start to the World Cup, disillusionment is back among the German rowers. In contrast to the start of the title fights with three victories, there were no further successes on the second day in Belgrade.
Six of the seven DRV teams that started in the Olympic boat classes missed direct qualification for the semi-finals. Only the women’s quadruple around batswoman Tabea Schendekehl saved herself the repechage as second behind the Netherlands.
In contrast, the men’s quadruple sculls had to settle for a disappointing fourth place in the heat. The Para team provided the only German victory of the day. The preliminary victory in the mixed fours with helmswoman secured the finals and thus the qualification for the Paralympics 2024 in Paris.
Germany Eight starts on Tuesday
For the Germany eight, the fight for the Olympic ticket begins on Tuesday. The heat with Australia, Italy, Romania and the USA is considered the easier and increases the chance of qualifying first or second directly for the final. After a hitherto unsettled season without a win, helmsman Jonas Wiesen made progress in the final World Championship preparations: “I think we’ve taken decisive steps to deliver much more consistent races in Belgrade,” he said.
The crew wants to avoid a tricky post-qualification for Paris 2024 next year at all costs. However, that assumes that it reaches at least fifth place in the Serbian capital. Similar to helmsman Wiesen, trainer Sabine Tschäge is also in good spirits that rowing will be spared damage to its image in the most popular boat class: “Overall, we have continued to develop. Now we are where we wanted to be.”
For Uwe Bender’s successor, the World Championships aren’t just a question of form, but also of nerves: “Of course we want to get ahead at the World Championships and qualify for the Olympics, but we don’t want to get too tense about it. If that works , let’s take the hurdle too.”