Newsletter

Rowing: “A debacle” – the reckoning of Oliver Zeidler

Sport Oliver Zeidler

“A debacle” – the reckoning of the top German rower

Summer Olympics 2020 in Tokyo.

Oliver Zeidler is more than clear shortly before the EM

Which: pa/SVEN SIMON/Frank Hoermann

The European Rowing Championships will begin in Munich next week. But the spectators hardly have to hope for home successes. Oliver Zeidler is one of the few German contenders. His sport cannot go on like this.

Einer driver Oliver Zeidler criticized the German Rowing Association (DRV) a few days before the start of the European Championships in Munich and called for comprehensive consequences. “If you look at the results of the season in rowing, it’s a debacle. We haven’t been this bad for a long time. The downward spiral that started in 2010 is turning faster and faster,” said the 2019 world champion in an interview with “Münchner Merkur” published on Wednesday.

Zeidler, world and two-time European champion, is one of the few German contenders to win the European Championships from August 11th to 14th on the former Olympic track in Oberschleißheim. According to the 26-year-old from Ingolstadt, the dwindling medal haul at major events in recent years and the poor season balance of the DRV fleet at the World Cups in Poznan and Lucerne require a rethink: “But we don’t have anyone in the German Rowing Association who has this idea of ​​competitive sports. It’s time to take responsibility. Something has to change there.”

To underpin his criticism, Zeidler referred to the development of the once successful German men’s quadruple sculls, which had completed the World Cup final in Lucerne in mid-July as penultimate in the B final.

“You get nothing without effort”

“And what do you do then? The coach requests two weeks leave after that, and the sporting director (Mario Woldt, Anm. d. Red.) also approves it. It is legitimate for an employee to request leave. But whoever approves it in the end should be thrown out,” he commented.

also read

Kicker, Comunio, Kickbase

Furthermore, the insufficient sports funding is partly responsible for the misery. “We are not professionals in Germany, but we have to compete against professionals. The claim of society is always that we should get as many medals as possible. But then a corresponding rethinking must take place. You don’t get anything without effort,” said Zeidler. In addition, a better distribution of funds in rowing and a change in the base system could contribute to more professionalism: “We have to completely rethink and question everything.”

also read

DORTMUND, GERMANY - MAY 14: Richard Schmidt lifts weights during a gym training session of the Men's Eight Germany on May 14, 2019 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending