place, time, Dutch participants and more

Just a little patience, but it’ll be fine European Rowing Championships 2023 disabled. This major watersports event will take place from Thursday May 25th to Sunday May 28th in the rowing mecca of Bled, Slovenia. The annual European Championship is, next to the World Cup, one of the most important competitions in the world of rowing. It’s time to dive deeper into this big event and see which Dutch participants make it to the tournament. The entire European Championship was broadcast linearly via NOS last year. If this is also the case in 2023, you will be able to watch the broadcasts via NLZIET, among others.

What does the sport of rowing actually involve?

Before moving on to the European Championships, let’s briefly explain what rowing is. There is different rowboats each powered by a different number of rowers. For example, there are variants where a helmsman is and is not on board. Incidentally, if he sails along, he does not have to row himself. The helmsman must ensure that the boat stays on the correct course and that the rowers continue to sail straight. They have their backs to the finish line, which makes good training and management crucially important. Rowers push the boat forward through belts moving through the water. The number of these varies from just one to a total of two per rower.

Rowing can no longer be ignored olympic sports. After the first edition it became a regular part of the men’s program and later, from 1976, also for women. The United States has been the top performer at the Olympics so far. With 33 gold, 32 silver and 24 bronze, they are far at the top of the medal table. The Netherlands are not doing too badly either, because “we” occupy the twelfth place out of a total of 43 winners with 36 medals.

rowing technique

Anyone who thinks rowing is an easy sport is wrong. With discipline comes a technique of hope look. For example, rowers sit with their back to the direction of travel, so they can exert extra force with their legs, back and arms. However, it is important that the boat goes as straight through the water as possible to maintain speed, while the athletes cannot see exactly which direction they are going. It is also important to keep pace with others, so as not to lose any strength. The technique consists of 5 parts: the blow, the push, the preparation of the body, the acceleration and the contrast blow. Especially with several rowers on board, it is important to coordinate power and timing, in order to sail as a real team.

The Dutch team will travel to the European Rowing Championships 2023

At previous European Championships in Munich, around 660 rowers took part in the tournament. This number will be comparable to the number of participants in the European championship to be held in Bled (Slovenia) this year. All matches start from 10 a.m. ‘The morning. The Netherlands are of course once again well represented at this European Championship and are fighting for places on the podium. In total, TeamNL does with eleven boats in different formations. The rowers had to pass various tests before the European Championship, so it was always exciting to know who was allowed to participate in the big tournament. Like that said Eelco Meenhorst, Head Coach of TeamNL Rowing: “I don’t think you can judge someone in an instant in rowing. If everyone does their type of preparation and achieves a performance, I find it difficult to compare. »

Finally we come to Men Lennart van Lierop, Guillaume Krommenhoek, Abe Wiersma, Stef Broenink, Melvin Twellaar, Nelson Ritsema, Guus Mollee, Olav Molenaar, Gert-Jan van Doorn, Koen Metsemakers, Tone Wieten, Simon van Dorp, Finn Florijn, Dieuwke Fetter, Jan van der See Bij, Jacob van de Kerkhof, Niki van Sprang, Mick Makker, Ruben Knab, Rik Rienks, Ralf Rienks and Sander de Graaf in action. At women we see Karolien Florijn, Veronique Meester, Ymkje Clevering, Laila Youssifou, Roos de Jong, Benthe Boonstra, Hermijntje Drenth, Tinka Offereins, Marloes Oldenburg, Lisa Scheenaard, Tessa Dullemans, Ilse Kolkman, Martine Veldhuis and Willemijn Mulder back on the water as a reserve.

All Dutch athletes hope to get one, just like last year big success make. For example, the reigning European and world champion in single sculls Karolien Florijn will be keen to defend her titles. Melvin Twellaar will seek gold with Stef Broenink in the double sculls. The former rower was already extremely successful in single sculls winning the championship at the European Championships and the silver medal at the World Championships. We also see Véronique Meester and Ymkje Clevering return to the pair without. In Munich last year, they managed to clinch bronze. The duo will therefore want to settle for at least one place on the podium of this European Championship.

TeamNL male participants

TeamNL female participants

Picture for illustration