ESCP ALUMNI magazine - #204 - Novembre 2023 - 60

Culture ❙ Sport
Par Paul PIQUARD
The Fantastic Four
Every year, four Germans get together for a weekend on the banks of the Weser to rekindle
their passion for rowing, a sport they discovered in 1986 during a year spent at ESCP-EAP under
the tutelage of the legendary Yvon Petit. We take a look back at this Parisian love affair with
Malte VON PUTBUS (EAP 89), Guido MERZ (EAP 89), Marcus OEYNHAUSEN (EAP 89)
and Niels HARDORP.
immediate selection : «The average height of
the French is a little below the Germans. The
smallest of us is 1,92 meters and the tallest
must be 1,98 meters tall. So at the time, it was
certainly twenty centimeters more, on average,
than what he usually had !»
Malte VON PUTBUS (EAP 89),
Guido MERZ (EAP 89),
Marcus OEYNHAUSEN (EAP 89)
and Niels HARDORP
E
very year, as October approaches,
the phone calls start to multiply.
Malte, Guido, Marcus and Niels
are all in their fifties and all have busy
schedules. But if there's one gathering they
wouldn't miss for the world, it's this one.
For the last fifteen years or so, the quartet
have been getting together for a weekend
to rekindle a passion they discovered while
living in Paris: rowing.
«We were all together in the 'première année', in
1986. It was an EAP cycle where you all had to
start together in Paris and then all go to Oxford
University, and then Berlin,» explains Guido,
before going into more detail on how they
all met. «Yvon Petit, who was famous in the
rowing world, was responsible for all rowing
activities at ESCP and also the Paris chamber
of commerce. He presented, with other trainers,
sport activities, very early in the first year. He
asked us to come for a trial and said : 'That's it !
Here are my guys !'» Did Monsieur Petit see
potential rowing prodigies when he first met
them ? They all laugh as Niels offers another
simple but logical explanation on their
60 ❙
After the birth of this quartet and a
friendship that continues to this day, it was
time to start training under the guidance
of their new coach, who did not skimp on
effort: «We trained twice a week and it was
pretty far, because we had to go to Choisy-leRoi,
in the south of Paris,» remembers Malte.
And conditions were not always ideal,
according to Marcus. «One day, we were training
with Niels, in February. There were still ice
blocks in the water. Our coach was following
us in a zodiac, with a megaphone. The boat
flipped, and we ended up under the water ! It's
the coldest we've ever been !»
The bonds forged by the hours spent rowing
together soon translated into results, with
a superb sixth place at the French student
championships. But they also led to exciting
student adventures outside of the boat, as
Guido recalls. «Niels and Marcus became flatmates,
and Malte and myself as well. We used
to go for dinner at small Chinese restaurants
close to Bercy, then we had beers at La Palette
and went to many parties !»
When asked about their best memories
during that special year in Paris, all four
of them recall different anecdotes. While
Guido fondly remembers rowing on
the Seine, under the Eiffel Tower, Malte
remembers a special training week which
took place «in Catalonia, in Banyoles, at the
ESCP Alumni Magazine numéro 204 ❙ NOVEMBRE 2023
future Olympic basin, with other crews from
French universities.» It's Niels, however, who
manages to sum up their Parisian adventures
with very few words : «For a German
man, it's a great experience to go to France.
Discover Paris, learn the language, learn about
the culture and have the 'éducation du coeur',
it's the nicest experience one can have.»
After two years spent at Oxford University,
where rowing «didn't quite work out as well»,
according to the crew, and time spent in
Berlin, life simply moved on. As the four
friends began focusing on their family
lives and their careers, they soon put their
beer-fueled conversations at La Palette and
extreme training sessions at Choisy-le-Roi
behind them. Until one day, around fifteen
years ago, Marcus received a phone

ESCP ALUMNI magazine - #204 - Novembre 2023

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