For Hans Gruhne, 2019 was one of the happiest years of his life. He became a father for the first time in March and has had a little daughter together with his partner Theresa ever since. However, as rowing training takes place in Hamburg and Ratzeburg and Hans lives with his family in Potsdam, the young father has to travel several times a month. The 2016 Olympic champion wants to attack again and go to his third Olympic Games.
Hans was a substitute at the beginning of last year. At the World Cup III he got his chance on stroke in the quad. The 31-year-old made use of this opportunity and led the quad scull to a silver medal right away. At the World Championships in Linz, the line-up achieved the Olympic qualification, but did not make it past 5th place. Despite this, the experienced rower made it into the quad scull again this season, but this time he is sitting in the bow. Can Hans defend his place in the boat or does the switching between two locations affect his rowing performance?
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Professional sport means above all renouncement. Timo Piontek, for whom last year was anything but easy, knows that too. At the World Championships in Linz everything goes well for him and the quad – until the final race.
In the infamous erg test, athletes have to go beyond their limits. Only those who invest everything have a chance of achieving the ambitious norm. While some athletes impress with personal bests and strong training performances, someone needs to talk to the head coach privately.
Finally, the quad forms a solid unit. The two youngsters Max Appel & TOle Naske and the experienced Olympic champions Hans Gruhne and Karl Schulze are ready for the World Cup season, but in the middle of the euphoria they are torn from their dreams.