Lukas Reim

It’s easier to row to the Olympics in pairs

Lukas Reim (back) with partner Julian Schöberl.(Bild: Seyb)

Rowing star Lukas Reim switched from the single scull to the double scull in the winter. He wants to row to the Summer Olympics in Paris with his partner Julian Schöberl from Linz. The pair are currently at a training camp in Italy.

Last September, rower Lukas Reim celebrated his greatest success to date: reaching the World Championship final in the lightweight single sculls. In winter, he switched to the double sculls. "In my class, rowing is only double Olympic," says the Salzburg native, explaining the change. Reim therefore hopes that it will be easier to row to the Olympics as a pair with his Upper Austrian partner Julian Schöberl. "It will be a challenge, but we certainly have a chance," says the 26-year-old, who joined the team on Tuesday.

To be a perfect team, you have to know each other very well. "It takes time for everything to play together. We have to row in sync." That's why the current training camp in Sabaudia (about an hour south of Italy's capital Rome) is important. "It's going well. The weather has improved and we are training four to six hours a day."

Things won't get serious for the pair until mid-April at the first World Cup. Their first Olympic opportunity will come two weeks later at the end of April in Hungary. "Unfortunately, the qualification process is a bit complicated," sighs the army athlete.