Windy start
Initially, the competition on the Golden Horn got off to a slow start due to poor weather conditions and some organizational difficulties. Extreme wind on the first day of competition meant that the preliminary races had to be cancelled. Because of this, the EUSA decided at short notice to carry out the preliminary decisions, which are normally held in the form of heats, repechage runs and, if necessary, semi-finals, as time trials. These were held on the second day of competition despite the continued light wind. The German athletes showed their strength with 21 of the 26 German boats qualifying for the A final. On the final day, the wind had finally died down and the organization was in place so that the races could be held in the usual format.
21 german boats got 13 medals
In the women's singles, Laura Kampmann from the University of Wuppertal secured the gold medal in a successful race. The men's four without a coxswain from the University of Cologne was also able to celebrate first place in its race and thus the title of European University Champion. The silver medal went to the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in the men's doubles sculls, the University of Konstanz in the lightweight women's doubles sculls and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in the men's eights, which held its own against six other boats in a particularly exciting final could. There were double medal rains for the students in the races of the women's twos without a coxswain (second place at the University of Heidelberg, third place at the University of Hanover), in the women's eights (second place at KIT, third place at the University of Hanover) and in the lightweight men's fours (Second place at the University of Munich, third place at the University of Hanover). In the lightweight fours, the University of Würzburg (women's fours) and the University of Hanover (men's fours without a coxswain) rowed the bronze medal.
"The other 13 boats from the German universities also delivered solid performances, so that the competition record in this particularly large team of German university rowers at the EUC reflects the excellent work in German student rowing at the universities. In particular, the large teams from the KIT and the University of Hanover convinced with their strength and with the organization of the boat transport for the German university rowers. Thanks to their own boats on site, the teams were also able to enable athletes from other nations to take part in the competitions by lending boat material and thus contribute to the success of the EUC,” says DC rowing Ruth Hotop.
Successful supporting program with impressive student commitment
The supporting program and the hospitality, which the numerous volunteers from the Yeditepe University Istanbul showed the German students in particular, made up for the disappointment with the weather and some omissions on the part of the organizers. All athletes will remember rowing on the Golden Horn against the backdrop of Istanbul with the muezzins calling in their ears, as well as the unique insight into Turkish culture in the metropolis on the Bosphorus.
Source: adh.de