One less medal chance for Switzerland. Jeannine Gmelin had to withdraw from the skiff semi-finals due to a positive test for Covid-19. Four Swiss boats nevertheless qualified for the European Rowing A finals in Munich. The newly formed coxless 4 around Roman Röösli mastered his subject when catching up.
Gmelin (32) should have rowed on Saturday to try to qualify for the final. But following experiencing symptoms of a cold, she took a Covid test which came back positive, forcing her to quit the competition and self-isolate at a hotel.
The 2017 world champion had qualified in a sovereign way for the semi-finals by finishing 2nd in her series. “It’s an unexpected and bitter end following a good start in these European championships“, she said.
Four boats in the final
Roman Röösli, 2nd at the Worlds in double sculls 4 years ago, returned to the Swiss rowing team only a few weeks ago. And the latest project from “Swiss Rowing” already promises a lot. Joel Schürch, Tim Roth, Röösli and Andrin Gulich are already competing with the best in Munich, even though they have only covered a few kilometers together in training.
During the catch-up race, the 4 Swiss only lost 2”5 on the experienced Romanians and qualified convincingly for the A final. The coxless 4 should be one of the Swiss boats to follow until the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
The lightweight 2nd scull with Jan Schäuble and Raphael Ahumada, who has already won a World Cup race this season in Belgrade and the overall World Cup standings, also qualified for the A final. female couple with Célia Dupré, Salome Ulrich, Lisa Lötscher and Pascal Walker won their catch-up round. Patricia Merz and Frédérique Rol qualified for the A final by finishing 2nd in the catch-up (only 3 hundredths behind Ireland).
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