Exciting Races in a Family Atmosphere...That’s the motto of the two organizing clubs of the Ruhrsprint regatta. Every year, right after the summer holidays, the Bochum Rowing Club and the Witten Rowing Club invite athletes to a 500-meter sprint regatta on the dammed Ruhr River at the foot of the Hohenstein, hosted on the premises of the Bochum Rowing Club. Away from the pressure of championship racing, rowers can form many different crew combinations that are usually not possible – and that bring lots of fun and excitement to everyone involved, including the spectators. Of course, the crews that were already successful during the spring season also get their chance to shine.
For the Datteln Rowing Club, it was an especially successful weekend. Across 49 starts, the team achieved 15 first places and 17 second places. In many cases, first and second place crews crossed the finish line within less than a second of each other, with modern timing technology being required to determine the winner beyond any doubt.
The many family members and friends who lined the riverbanks were treated to a full program and could experience the races up close. From Datteln’s point of view, the most successful athletes were Lotte Gehre and Jannis Lammers, each with six wins – including one together in the Mixed U19 Double Sculls. Lennart Freck secured four victories, two of them with his crew from the spring season: Aaron Greuel, Johann Dörfl (RC Germania), and Jannis Lammers in the Junior U19 Quadruple Sculls. He also won once in the single scull and once in the double scull.
The younger athletes also collected wins: Silas Wewers and Tom Pastoors won the U15 Double Sculls twice. Muriel Gerards and Johanna Bromkamp achieved the same in the girls’ U15 double scull, while Mia Minarzik and Sophia Greuel won once in the Junior Women’s U17 Double Sculls.
Even Leo Böckmann and Paul Mendel, who had actually already retired from competitive rowing, managed to win again – in the Men’s Double Sculls.
Three young athletes who only started rowing this year celebrated their regatta debut at the Ruhrsprint: Aslan Kun and Jan Reismann in the U15 children's class, and Adam Slusarczik in the Junior U17 category. They had to learn that a few more kilometers of training will be needed to reach the front of the field – but it was still an exciting experience.
Next weekend, the season continues with the rowing regatta in Leer, where the Junior Quad will be defending their title at the “East Frisian Night Sprint Championships.”
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