GRUHNE Hans

General
TRAINING RELOCATION
In preparation for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, German rowing officials required all national team members to train at one of four national training centres. As a result he had to move his training base from Berlin to Hamburg, which meant he spent a lot of time away from his partner and daughter Amelie [born in 2019]. They continued living in Potsdam, just outside Berlin, while he commuted to Hamburg during the week for training. "Although I support the decision for centralised training, it is a very difficult situation. The commuting and the constant feeling of missing something at home with the family is tough. I would have liked to have continued training in Berlin, I had everything I needed there. But only athletes who are willing to work under these conditions have a good future in the national team." (pnn.de 06 Nov 2018; pnn.de 20 Feb 2019, pnn.de, 14 Jan 2020)

POST-RIO BREAK
After winning gold in the quadruple sculls at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, he took a break from international competition until the first World Cup event of 2018. "I needed to take a break from the grind and take it easy for a while. I used the time to reflect and then realised that despite having turned 30 [in 2018] there was still room for improvement in both the physical and technical aspect. Having that break allowed me to return and give it my all again." (pnn.de 05 Sep 2018)