Oliver Zeidler wins fourth European rowing title with championship record in Varese

Zeidler's record-breaking victory

Italian authorities had warned of extreme heat in Lombardy for the weekend, but racing on Lake Varese went ahead. Oliver Zeidler won his fourth European title in the men's single sculls, setting a championship record of 6:36.39 minutes over 2,000 metres. The 30-year-old German led from start to finish, beating Belarusian Yauheni Zalaty by 3.55 seconds and Greek world champion Stefanos Ntouskos by 4.58 seconds. A thunderstorm over Lombardy delayed the final by an hour, but Zeidler quickly took control once racing began and extended his lead through the second half. He had already set a European best of 6:37.87 in Saturday's semifinal, improving on that mark by nearly 1.5 seconds in the final. Zeidler has not lost a race in the 2026 season, having also set a world record on the ergometer during winter training.

Germany eight takes silver behind Romania

The German men's eight, with new stroke Frederik Breuer, finished second, 2.90 seconds behind Romania. Italy took bronze. The eight had placed fourth at World Cups in Seville and Lucerne and failed to advance from the heats at the 2025 World Championships in China. The silver is the boat's first international medal since the 2020 European title, but the field lacked Olympic champion Great Britain and world champion Netherlands, who skipped the event to prepare for the World Championships in Amsterdam (24–30 August). The German women's eight finished last in a four-boat field, with Romania winning gold.

German medal haul across boat classes

Germany collected three gold, four silver, and one bronze medal. The men's quadruple sculls (Marc Weber, Felix Heinrich, Jonas Gelsen, Ole Hohensee) won gold, ending a 13-year European title drought. The para mixed double sculls (Jasmina Bier, Paul Umbach) defended their title, beating Ukraine. Silvers went to the women's four (Hannah Reif, Paula Hartmann, Annabelle Bachmann, Pia Greiten) behind Great Britain, the women's quadruple sculls (Maren Völz, Juliane Faralisch, Johanna Debus, Frauke Hundeling) behind Switzerland, and lightweight men's single sculler Fabio Kress. The men's four (René Schmela, Jasper Angl, Benedict Eggeling, Mark Hinrichs) took bronze, the first medal in that boat class since the 2019 European Championships in Lucerne. Also on Saturday, Patrick Erdmann and Johannes Ursprung won the lightweight men's pair, a non-Olympic event.

Zeidler's season and Olympic ambitions

Zeidler described the European Championships as a benchmark on the way to the World Championships in Amsterdam, where he will aim for his fourth world title. After his 2024 Olympic gold in Paris, he took a reduced schedule in 2025 to complete a master's degree in Switzerland, competing only at the World Championships in Shanghai and winning silver despite limited preparation. Now with his degree finished, he has adopted a new training concept under his father and coach Heino Zeidler, targeting a second Olympic gold at Los Angeles 2028. The European title in Varese is his fourth, following wins in 2019, 2021, and 2024.