"Three! Two! One!" it sounded yesterday at 1 p.m. in the entrance hall of Eindhoven Central Station. A group of about one hundred people came to watch Sander de Graaf “row” the first meters of the world record attempt. Of course, this is not done in a real rowing boat, but on a rowing machine. If the Thêtans manage to keep the rowing machine running nonstop for ten days and seven hours they will have a new world record.

15 seconds

Whether they will succeed depends not only on stamina, but also on tactics. Takeovers are especially challenging, according to Thêta member Fabian Lucas Luijckx. “With a takeover you have about 15 seconds before the wheel of the ergometer comes to a stop,” he says. “The person on the ergometer then has to make a few strong pulls and get off on one side, while the new person quickly gets on via the other side while yet another person holds the seat in position.”

Hartstichting

Besides the ambition to break the current world record, the rowing marathon is also intended as a fundraiser for the 'Hartstichting'. “A competitive rower of our club, Claudia van Lieshout, died suddenly in her sleep in 2021 as a result of cardiac arrest,” Lucas Luijckx explains. “With her in mind and with the idea of the Hartstichting being really close to us, we decided to raise as much money as possible for them.”