Lukas Erbe Defended His Pumpkin Regatta Title at Ludwigsburg Even Though a Rival Paddled a Faster Time
The same quirk decided the women's race, where Svenja Fokken won despite Henrike Koenig setting the quickest women's time of the day on the palace lake.
Lukas Erbe of Heilbronn successfully defended his title at the pumpkin regatta in the gardens of the Bluehendes Barock in Ludwigsburg, Germany, where competitors paddled hollowed out giant pumpkins across the palace lake in the finals on 20 September 2026.
Erbe was timed at 57.84 seconds, yet the fastest men's time of the day belonged to runner up Fabian Schmiech, who recorded 57.63 seconds. Andreas Jessberger finished third. Local news site Ludwigsburg24 noted that the fastest times of the day did not decide the winners and that the organisers did not fully explain the scoring method.
The women's race followed the same pattern. Svenja Fokken of Bietigheim won in 1 minute 15.19 seconds, ahead of Johanna Zeller, while third placed Henrike Koenig set the quickest women's time of the day at 1 minute 09.18 seconds.
Qualifying took place on Saturday before the finals ran on Sunday afternoon, and large crowds lined the water in pleasant weather to watch the paddlers wobble their unusual vessels across the lake. The Ludwigsburger Kreiszeitung described the regatta as the annual autumn highlight of the garden's pumpkin exhibition.
The regatta season is not over. Jan Biermans, who won the Dutch Open pumpkin championship in Breda a day earlier with an 847.5kg fruit, plans to hollow out his winner for a regatta in late October.