The German national team has won four titles in the Olympic part of Kiel Week. After the early victory by the young Kiel up-and-comers Paul Kohlhoff and Carolina Werner in the new Olympic mixed catamaran class Nacra 17, the Oldenburg Laser sailor Tobias Schadewaldt and the Kiel 49er sailors Justus Schmidt and Max Böhme also won the series on the fjord on Wednesday. It was Schadewaldt's third title after two 49er victories in 2011 and 2012. Justus Schmidt and Max Böhme won for the first time in their home waters. At the same time, Paralympics winner Heiko Kröger sailed to his eighth Kiel Week triumph in the 2.4 mR keelboat. A strong final spurt was enough for the man from Jersbek to oust the Norwegian Bjørnar Erikastad, who had been leading until then, from the top spot on the podium by one point. Austria's 470 world champions put in the strongest Olympic series: Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar contested eight races and won them all. Silver medals went to the 49er European champions Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel as well as Leonie Meyer and Elena Stoffers in the 49er FX, who were one point ahead of the third-placed twins Jule and Lotta Görge after the medal race.
KiWo day 5 in 60 seconds
After a few calm days, the medal races of the 121st Kiel Week were stormy with up to 25 knots of wind.
However, the jubilation about the good German result ahead of the upcoming European and World Championships, where the German national teams are not only competing for medals but also for starting places for the Olympic Games and personal national qualification, was also mixed with criticism of Kiel Week: the Kiel Week fleets did not meet the requirements of the organisers and the participating sailors, either in terms of quantity or quality. With a total of only 269 teams in eight Olympic and one Paralympic discipline, a new minus record was set. The loss of World Cup status three years ago and too many European and World Championships taking place too close to Kiel Week had led to the heavy bloodletting. Most of the top international sailors in the Olympic classes had sailed past Kiel Week this year.
The President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation also noticed this during his visit to the Kiel-Schilksee Olympic Centre. Although Alfons Hörmann enjoyed "the wonderful successes of the German sailors" and the "excellent media coverage" of the exciting sport on the water, he said with regard to the limited regatta fields: "The loss of World Cup status harbours the real danger of slipping into second-class status. Every effort must be made to become a World Cup again." Hörmann also pointed out that although Kiel enjoys the highest reputation worldwide, there is also "a lot of need for change". He took a telling look at the facades of the Olympic Centre, whose ugly seventies concrete exterior has been the subject of discussion for decades.
Kiel's Lord Mayor Ulf Kämpfer had already energetically heralded the desired turnaround: "Now is the time for the turnaround. We will fight and show what we can do at the upcoming Kieler Woche." Kieler Woche's sporting crisis is not of its own making. The World Cup status withdrawn by the World Sailing Federation and awarded to the smaller competitors Hyères in France and Weymouth in Great Britain, the density of dates and class associations not controlled by the World Sailing Federation, which schedule their European and World Championships at will, have earned Kiel its current thankless place on the bench.
This year, Kieler Woche not only did a lot right with its exemplary service for the sailors on land and the live coverage, but also delighted a remarkably large audience in Schilksee. The North Germans also received top marks from the athletes for their upgraded regatta management. Tobias Schadewaldt said: "Kiel is one of the most prestigious regattas in the world. The regatta management was first class." In the coming weeks and months, the organisers want to set the course for the upward trend they have set their sights on. The new Head of Organisation, Dirk Ramhorst, promised an "intensive analysis of various future scenarios" and a "proactive positioning" for Kiel Week.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
