The "König vom Kalksee" rowing event took place for the fourth time and the participation of Olympic champions, world champions and internationally successful athletes promised exciting races right from the start. Women's and men's rowing teams compete to qualify for the final in elimination races over a 250-metre distance.
Citizens also took the opportunity to experience an eight-man sprint of the Rüdersdorf national rowing league team up close and got their money's worth. Over coffee and cake on the beautiful grounds of the rowing club, they enthusiastically followed the thrilling head-to-head duels and created a great competitive atmosphere.
Nine men's and two women's eights from Brandenburg and Berlin battled for the golden crown. The dominance of some teams quickly became apparent, so that the local hero was able to impress with the best time in the time trial, closely followed by Team Spitzke from RC Tegel. Both teams remained unbeaten until the heart-stopping final in the evening hours, where they met each other. With the water as smooth as glass and the sun on the horizon, the two favourites crossed the finish line almost simultaneously and only a glance at the finish line camera revealed:
The King of Kalksee 2010 is Team Spitzke from RC Tegel, which celebrated a double victory, as the women's team from the same rowing club narrowly beat the racing team from Rüdersdorf and Magdeburg in several races, meaning that the Queens of Kalksee were crowned for the first time in the history of this regatta.
Although last year's winners from Rüderrsdorf did not manage to defend their title, Tino Töpfer, batsman from the Rüdersdorf eight, was sporting: "We had a bad day. Some of our victories were very clear, but we showed many technical weaknesses in all races. So the stronger team deserved to win on this day."
The trophy and the symbolic golden crowns were ceremoniously presented by the mayor of the municipality of Rüdersdorf, Mr André Schaller.
After the coronation of the "King of Kalksee" 2010, the legendary after-row party continued late into the night.
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