Gold for Team German Men's Eight: Rowers make history at the World Championship in Plovdiv

First World Championship title defense with the same lineup

The rowers of the German men's eight successfully defended their World Championship title in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, with an impressive performance. With a start-to-finish victory over Australia, Great Britain, and the USA, Hannes Ocik, Richard Schmidt, Malte Jakschik, Jakob Schneider, Torben Johannesen, Maximilian Planer, Felix Wimberger, Johannes Weißenfeld, and Martin Sauer achieved something unique: for the first time, a German men's eight crew managed to defend their title at a World Championship with the same lineup.

"This team stands out because they didn't settle for the title win from last year. Instead, they saw it as a challenge to accomplish what no one had done before in the same lineup," said coxswain Martin Sauer after the awards ceremony.

Starting aggressively and quickly distancing themselves from the competition

Due to strong winds, the fairness commission of Fisa changed the lane distribution early in the morning. The German men's eight, now on lane 5, had a perfect start to the race and quickly pulled away from the competition due to their aggressive approach. "The start and the first phase after the start were very good, allowing us to break free without ever being under pressure and enabling us to race our own race," said national coach Uwe Bender. The lead grew to just under a boat length at 1,500 meters, and that's when the decision was made.

"We rowed the first 1,500 meters at our optimal limit. Then we brought it home," said stroke Hannes Ocik. The German crew crossed the finish line with a significant lead of just under two seconds, with Australia winning silver, three hundredths of a second ahead of Great Britain in third place.