Kieler Woche: Gold, silver, bronze: Olympic sailors shine on World Championship course

First gold, then silver and then bronze: Germany's Olympic sailors performed well in the second part of Kiel Week and won three medals on the final day. In the nations' ranking, Laser ace Philipp Buhl and the German Sailing Team took fourth place behind New Zealand, Denmark and Great Britain. The overall result can be seen as a success in this Kiel Week edition, which had excellent international participation in most classes.

Laser vice world champion Philipp Buhl from Sonthofen secured his fifth Kieler Woche title with a strong fighting performance and a bit of luck of the draw in the medal race. The world number two seemed to have already lost his victory in the second half of the 20-minute race. But then he first benefited from the capsizing of Olympic silver medallist Tonci Stipanovic from Croatia and a little later from a penalty against Karl-Martin Rammo from Estonia.

And suddenly it was there, Buhl's chance to put the one sailor between himself and the Brit Elliot Hanson, whom he so desperately needed in the tussle with Hanson for overall victory. At the finish line, the active spokesman for the national sailing team was just one second ahead of the rest of the field, and Buhl was delighted with his victory. "I am happy. Of course I am! But I would be even happier if I had won under my own steam and not with external help." For his self-confidence on course for the World Championships, the success was important, as was the victory a fortnight ago at the World Cup final in Marseille, explained Buhl. The 28-year-old wants to fight for the title in the area off Aarhus, which is similar to the Kiel Fjord and therefore the home waters of the German Olympic sailors. Buhl knows: "Brains could also play a decisive role here."

The 49erFX European champions Tina Lutz (Holzhausen) and Susann Beucke (Strande) sailed to second place at the Kieler Woche. Helmswoman Tina Lutz said: "We are completely satisfied." Nadine Boehm and Ann-Christin Goliass from the German Touring Yacht Club in Bavaria won Kieler Woche bronze in the Olympic double-handed dinghy 470. The German women scored three times here: Fabienne Oster/Anastasiya Winkel from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein in Hamburg and Berliners Frederike Loewe and Anna Markfort completed the good overall result with fourth and fifth places.

DSV Sports Director Nadine Stegenwalner drew a positive balance at the final press conference with the podium finishers at the Kiel-Schilksee Olympic Centre. "It's fun to sit here next to a complete set of medals," she said. After Kiel Week, the national sailing team is heading for the World Championships in all Olympic sailing disciplines, which will be held from 30 July to 12 August in Aarhus, Denmark. There, the top performers want to secure their first national starting places for the 2020 Olympic Games. "That will be a real challenge in some disciplines," says Nadine Stegenwalner. 40 per cent of all 250 starting places available at the Olympic regatta in Enoshima in 2020 will be allocated at the World Championships. Torsten Haverland, Vice President for Competitive Sports at the German Sailing Association (DSV), said: "We are aiming for two medals in Aarhus and at least 60 per cent of the chances in the battle for the national starting places for the 2020 Olympics. I believe our team can achieve that after this Kiel Week."

Click here for the final results of the 124th Kiel Week 2018.