Canal Cup firmly in German hands

In its 13th year the Canal Cup is the first major long distance race of the ‘off season’ for the German men’s eight and this year they raced the United States, Poland and Great Britain. Finishing the 12.7km race on the Kiel Canal in a time of 36:34 gave Germany the win with the United States coming in second, 23 seconds back. Great Britain were third and Poland finished fourth.

Germany took the lead early in the race leaving Great Britain and the United States fighting for second through most of the first half of the course. The United States then pulled away from Great Britain and tried to attack Germany who were able to respond effectively. In tail wind conditions Germany’s finishing time was about 30 seconds faster than last year.

In the 13 years of the Canal Cup Germany has won all but three times. The last time Germany did not win was 2010 when Great Britain took the prize.

The Canal Cup is a full weekend of rowing events and the eights also competed in a sprint held in downtown Hamburg. Germany won the sprint ahead of the United States in the A-final. Poland won the B-final against Great Britain. There was also a men’s single sculls sprint with Germany’s Marcel Hacker finishing ahead of Aleksandar Aleksandrov of Azerbaijan and Roel Braas of the Netherlands.

Another component of the Canal Cup is the indoor rowing machine relay race which was won by the United States with Germany second, Poland third and Great Britain fourth.

The race was broadcast live on ARD, German television and it generated the most views of any sports during that Sunday afternoon. To view the race (footage includes great aerial shots of the boats) click here.

For a full list of crew members click here.

Next year’s Canal Cup will be held 12 September 2014.