No longer in the association

Rowing ace Reim faces an uncertain future

Lukas Reim won the national title at Wallersee.(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

Lukas Reim now has to find a new direction after the association no longer plans to work with him.His focus is now on training and studying.The 26-year-old is also considering a move to the coast.

Around a week and a half ago, Lukas Reim suddenly received a letter of resignation. The rower was informed by the army that his contract would not be extended and that he would no longer be an army athlete from November. "The rowing association has decided that it can't imagine a future with me. That's a shame, of course," sighs Reim.

"Unfortunately, there was no communication with me. As an athlete, you're also up in the air. Thank God I have my father as a coach, the Möve Salzburg rowing club and the Olympic Center."

The rowing ace will receive one more year of professional support, a certain portion of his salary, from the army. The 26-year-old also hopes that he will continue to receive support from the Salzburg Olympic squad. "So I can finish my studies (law and economics). I've put that on the back burner for the past year and a half," he says, wanting to be well prepared for his future career.

National championship title won
In terms of sport, however, he continues to train full-time, sometimes 24 hours a week. "Then I'll see what comes up. Of course, coastal rowing is a big option." This sport will be an Olympic sport for the first time in Los Angeles in 2028. Whether it suits him will only become clear when he ventures onto the coast in the spring.

"My environment and team say that it suits me well. I played soccer until I was 14, I know how to run and I'm generally a lively guy," says the Salzburg native hopefully.

In any case, he ended the 2024 competition season yesterday with the national title in the single sculls. Tabea Minichmayr won the women's event.