Florijn, the daughter of rowing legend Ronald Florijn, was no less than 6.7 seconds faster than her closest rival, the Greek Evangelia Anastasiadou. The bronze went to the German Alexandra Föster.
Florijn, who was also unapproachable during the World Cup matches in Belgrade and Poznan, had a relaxed start but after 250 meters took a steady but decisive distance from her four fellow finalists. Halfway through the race she was already 3.5 seconds ahead of Anastasiadou, to eventually win by three boat lengths.
Olympic silver
Florijn, who won Olympic silver in Tokyo with the coxless, has only been in the one-man boat since this season. That seems like an excellent decision, as she reigns supreme in the royal class. After the race, the Leiden lady said she was mainly ‘tired’. ,,Everyone expects you to win, but it’s not that easy. Fortunately it worked today, I am very happy with that.”
The fatigue was partly due to the circumstances, said the brand new European champion: “There was a lot of headwind.” In six weeks, Florijn hopes to be able to fire again at the world championships in Racice, which are scheduled for six weeks. “Hopefully I can do a little more than that.”
Unique
It has been a long time since a Dutch rower excelled in the single scull. Marit van Eupen was three times world champion in the light scull between 2005 and 2007. She is in possession of ‘the golden belt’, an honorary prize that is highly regarded among the Dutch skiffers. The fact that Florijn became European champion in the open class, on the other hand, is unique in women’s rowing.
women eight
The women’s eight took bronze at the European Championships in Munich. Mate Aniek van Veenen, Hermijntje Drenth, Benthe Boonstra, Laila Youssifou, Marloes Oldenburg, Roos de Jong, Tinka Offereins, Ymkje Clevering and Veronique Meester did not participate in the battle for the gold. Romania won in a time of 6.26.38. The British women conceded just over 1.5 seconds. The Dutch boat crossed the finish line almost 10 seconds after the Romanian women.
The women’s eight consists of rowers who also end up in other parts. The Dutch women were the best at two World Cup competitions earlier this year.
The bronze was the eighth medal for the Dutch rowing selection in Munich. On Saturday, on the first day of the final, there were four silver and one bronze medal. On Sunday, Martine Veldhuis also won bronze in the light scull.