Philipp Buhl took a closer look at his fifth title at Kieler Woche on Friday. The vice world champion moved up to second place on the third day of racing in the largest Olympic fleet with 118 starters on the fjord, reducing his gap to the British leader Eliott Hanson to four points. The Sonthofen native followed up his first race win with fifth place in the power play on the fjord.
So far, eight crews from the DSV fleet have finished in the top 10 in the Olympic half of Kiel Week. Among them is Laser Radial helmswoman Svenja Weger, who was able to score points in the strong winds despite the known light winds. Weger said: "Light winds still suit me better. But I worked very hard in the gym in the winter and also on my boat speed." The 2014 European champion reaped the rewards on the fjord on Friday with 6th, 5th and 3rd place. The 24-year-old thus moved up to ninth place.
On Friday, the Kiel Nacra 17 sailors Paul Kohlhoff and Alica Stuhlemmer secured the second German win of the day on their comeback. This is the duo's first regatta together following Kohlhoff's operation at the end of 2017 and the recovery process. "We're still a bit rusty, but we're already quite happy with the results," said Kohlhoff. The team's good individual results were affected by two early starts.
Together with the second German Nacra 17 crew Johannes Polgar and Carolina Werner (NRV Olympic Team), Kohlhoff/Stuhlemmer form an effective and close-knit training team that has only one goal for this year: to secure the German national starting place for the 2020 Olympic Games in the mixed Nacra 17 catamaran at the World Championships in Aarhus in August. Johannes Polgar, 2008 Olympic eight in the Tornado, says: "I'm not worried about that. Paul and Alica are absolute rockets in strong winds. One of us will win the ticket." At Kieler Woche, Polgar/Werner and Kohlhoff/Stuhlemmer are in 12th and 13th place after eight races in the gold fleet and will be fighting on Saturday for a place in the medal race for the top ten teams on Sunday.
The sailors of the national sailing team continue to enjoy success on the Kiel Fjord. Nadine Boehm and Ann-Christin Goliaß from Bavaria are leading the women's 470. Berliners Frederike Loewe/Anna Markfort and Fabienne Oster/Anastsiya Winkel (NRV) are in fourth and fifth place. In the 49erFX, Tina Lutz/Susann Beucke (Holzhausen/Strande) are still on course for a medal in third place. Kiel Week ends on 24 June with the medal races of the Olympic sailors.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
