Long-term partnerships are not a given in rowing. As in normal life, some separate after a short time of their own accord, others are torn apart because trainers and those in charge expect the individual athletes to be more successful in new combinations.
For Hannah Reif and Lena Sarassa, the forced divorce was discussed two years ago. At that time, the two strap specialists, who won World Cup bronze in the two-man without as juniors in 2021, were unable to win the national title in their first year as seniors and were also supposed to try out the four-man and eight-man events during the season. A fifth place at the European Championships in Munich was one of the results. But when the friends were then encouraged to move to Berlin and seek harmony with other colleagues in a small boat, they decided to stay together in their adopted home of Dortmund.
“Now more than ever, we said to ourselves”
“Fun is our priority,” explains Reif, even if that means losing out to the national competition. “Now more than ever, we said to ourselves,” and that should pay off: As in 2023, the 24-year-olds were once again unbeatable at the national test in Hamburg, which decides on the crew of the German Rowing Association’s boats.
They will represent their country’s colors at the World Cup opener this weekend in Varese, Italy. If everything goes well there and at the European Championships in Hungary at the end of April, you will have the opportunity to grab one of two remaining tickets for the Olympic Games in Paris in your boat class at the qualification regatta before the World Cup final in Lucerne in May.
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The perfectionists were not satisfied with their performance in Hamburg. After a two-week training camp in Erba, they now want to show better performances. She shouldn’t be impressed by the fact that the weather once surprised them in Lombardy and huge waves caused them to have to leave their two-seater behind and switch to a motorboat. “We were lucky in misfortune; neither we nor the boat suffered any major damage,” reports Reif.
She couldn’t say what her chances of making it to the Olympics were until she competed against the other nations. The two failed in their first attempt to qualify for the 2023 World Cup. “That’s over for us. We are only looking forward,” emphasizes Reif. To do this, they returned to their long-time coach Werner Nowak. Hannah’s father Christoph complements the quartet with calm and composure.
“Back then, we had hoped that a change of coach would give us an additional push,” says Reif. Now we have returned to the tried and tested. “Lena and I both know that we work our asses off.” The couple is characterized by their 100% trust in each other.
In good hands at Germania in Frankfurt
In 2017 they won silver together in the eight at the Junior World Championships and talked about a future together in the two. In 2019, Reif moved from Brandenburg to Dortmund and took the batswoman’s place in Sarassa’s boat. “We wanted to go through to 2024, no matter what,” says Reif. “Now we are already an old married couple.” Sarassa is “the stronger one” of the two, the one with the cool head, and she herself is the technology freak with “less bullshit” and more plan, who is responsible for the organization.
Reif is supported by Germania, where she stayed a year ago when she was looking for a club that could do more for her as a competitive athlete than the RK am Wannsee, where she was previously registered. Even though Reif is rarely in Frankfurt, the business student feels in good hands with the Hessians.
The path that will take her and Sarassa to Vaires-sur-Marne, where the rowing competitions will be held during the Paris Games, begins this Friday with the preliminary heat in Varese. In the days before, the main thing was to recharge your batteries. The duo regenerates in a very unique way: “We lie in bed and watch trash TV,” admits Reif. The two are also inseparable.
