Steinmühlen Rowers at a Regatta in Großauheim

A very successful showing with four first-place finishes and one second-place finish

RuS athletes claimed four first-place finishes in the 500-meter race at the 42nd Grossauheim Short-Distance Rowing Regatta. Niclas Mägerlein (lightweight junior A single scull), Lorena Heinemann and her partner Phine Schütt in the women’s double scull, and Leon Sauer in the junior B single scull all followed in the footsteps of Lucas Schäfer in the men’s single scull and deservedly added their names to the list of winners.

Lukas Drösch (Lightweight Junior A Single Scull) put in a strong performance and, after leading for much of the race, was ultimately defeated in a thrilling race only by top sculler Wolf Eckhard from Wetzlar, who ranks among the top six in Germany in this class.

The youngest members of the Steinmühle team—two of whom are just ten years old—performed remarkably well in the quadruple sculls for the 13-and-under age group. Although they weren’t able to contend for the win, they managed to finish ahead of one other quadruple scull on their first day. Sebastian Wöhr, Johannes Vollhardt, Benett Meier, and Dustin Brömer, with coxswain Viktor Zovko, gave it their all to follow in the footsteps of the “big names.”

Coach Martin Strohmenger: “We achieved what we set out to do. The younger players should learn a thing or two from their very successful teammates. This marks the start of the new 2015 season.”

After the Hesse Championships, the team will head to the Hesse Rowing Association’s training camp in Eschwege during the fall break. State coach Harald Blum has invited four promising young athletes —Leon Sauer, Min-Joon Kang, Julia Wolf, and Melina Walter— to the tryout camp. During the week, they’ll hit the weight room, lace up their running shoes, and get on the ergometers. On the weekends, they’ll train at the water training center in Gießen. A lot of sweat will be shed before the young club can build on this year’s successes in the next season.