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Athletes
Rob
Muffels
Germany, GER
Open water
Biography
Further Personal Information
Date of birth
08 December 1994
Height
187 cm
Family
Partner Sharon van Rouwendaal.
Residence
Magdeburg, GER
Occupation
Armed Forces, Athlete, Student
Languages
English, German
Higher education
Psychology - Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg: Germany
Sport Specific Information
Why this sport?
"My parents wanted me to take up swimming to be safe and my bigger brother was already swimming."
Club / Team
SC Magdeburg: Germany
Name of coach
Bernd Berkhahn [club, national] GER; Stefan Lurz [national] GER
Training Regime
He swims about 80km a week, divided into 11 sessions of about two hours.
General Interest
Nicknames
Bobby (tagesspiegel.de, 18 Jul 2019)
Hero / Idol
Italian swimmer Gregorio Paltrinieri. (tagesschau.de, 18 Jul 2019)
Injuries
He suffered from influenza infections between November 2016 and January 2017. (volksstimme.de, 25 Feb 2016)
Awards and honours
He was named the 2014 Athlete of the Year in Magdeburg, Germany. (mdcc.de, 12 Feb 2015)
Other sports
He represented Germany in swimming at the 2012 European Short Course Championships in Chartres, France. (SportsDeskOnline, 10 Aug 2017)
Famous relatives
His partner Sharon van Rouwendaal represents the Netherlands in open water swimming and won gold at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (volksstimme.de, 17 Jul 2019)
Ambitions
To win a medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (volksstimme.de, 25 Jan 2020)
Other information
FRIENDLY RIVALRY
Despite having a strong rivalry with German teammate Florian Wellbrock, the two are close friends and train together. "Florian and I have learned a lot from Thomas Lurz and also from Angela Maurer. In the end, it's about experience and hard work. I currently rate him [Wellbrock] as one of the strongest long-distance swimmers, it is definitely an advantage to have him as a training partner. I change things because I see that it works for him. You should know your competitors. I know him very well." (spiegel.de, 15 Jul 2019; openwaterswimming.com, 16 Jul 2019; swimsportnews.de, 16 Jul 2019)
Despite having a strong rivalry with German teammate Florian Wellbrock, the two are close friends and train together. "Florian and I have learned a lot from Thomas Lurz and also from Angela Maurer. In the end, it's about experience and hard work. I currently rate him [Wellbrock] as one of the strongest long-distance swimmers, it is definitely an advantage to have him as a training partner. I change things because I see that it works for him. You should know your competitors. I know him very well." (spiegel.de, 15 Jul 2019; openwaterswimming.com, 16 Jul 2019; swimsportnews.de, 16 Jul 2019)
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