Pierre de Loew and Robin Claes were selected in a double round in mid-May to take part in the last Olympic regattas in Lucerne, Switzerland.
Pierre de Luv (Royal Bruges Rowing Federation) and Gentinar Robin Claes competed in the European Championships in Varese, Italy this month. “We finished 13th, not 14th, because Serbia did not meet the semi-finals, so we advanced by one place,” says a resident of Bruges. “That thirteenth place might not look good, but the field of double paddles was really high. On our second chance, we had some bad luck in the lottery, and so we ended up in the C final. With our third best time in resets, we were going to pass. In any other reset this is simply the regattas progress system, “says de Luv. “With a few strong races and another big step closer to the world summit, we gained a lot of confidence in the Lucerne direction.”
last chance
In Varese, most of their opponents already had an Olympic ticket in their pockets in their double rowing boats. So they will not be there at the Rotsee in Lucerne, from May 15-17. The fastest couple in Switzerland are allowed to go to Tokyo. De Loof and Claeys will have to take into account competition from Australia, Canada, and the United States. “Lucerne is also our first and last chance to participate in the Games, because there was no ticket to be obtained in Varese at the European Championships,” KRB-er said.
In the qualifying regatta in Switzerland, Ward Limlin, the indoor world champion, gets a second chance. In Varese, the Belgian singles rider finished thirteenth at the start of this month. A week later, with Bruegling Niels Van Zandwejie and Gentinar Tim Brace, already qualified for Turkuo, the two Belgian light teams will compete at the World Cup in Lucerne, from May 21 to 23. (ACR)
