With a second place in the final, the Flensburg 49er sailors Lennart Briesenick-Pudenz/Morten Massmann achieved their greatest success to date. Surfer Moana Delle (Kiel) won all six races, while Heiko Kröger (Kiel) dominated the competition in the 2.4 mR.
The three victories gave the German sailors a very good finish to the Olympic regattas in the 127th year of Kieler Woche. With three victories in eleven disciplines, they came top of the nations' rankings, ensuring a successful debut at the first Sailing World Cup off Kiel. The USA and Poland each recorded two victories.
Organising director Jobst Richter was very satisfied with the course of the regatta, despite the lack of wind quality over the five days: "Everything went smoothly on the water. And the entry result with many top sailors was very good. This is great recognition for Kiel."
Despite all the pressure of expectation, the German 49ers sailed to second place in the double scored medal race, defending the lead they had fought for the day before. "We didn't pay much attention to anyone, we just sailed our race," said helmsman Briesenick-Pudenz, revealing the recipe for success. However, his cox admitted that he was "pretty nervous at the start". "Once we realised that the basic speed was right, we calmed down. It was a good feeling after crossing the finish line. We even had a sip of champagne," says Massmann. Still without a boat and a clear Olympic campaign last autumn, Briesenick-Pudenz/Massmann can now look ahead to 2012. With top ten placings at the World Cups in Mallorca and Hyères and the crowning glory now in Schilksee, they have arrived at the top of the world. The training partnership with the brothers Jan Peter and Hannes Peckolt before the 2008 Olympic Games paid off for the team from Flensburg: "We took over the bronze boat from the Peckolts and were also coached here by Jan Peter for a day," reported Briesenick-Pudenz. The team receives financial support primarily from the local FSC. "We have always been well looked after by the club from the Opti onwards and have now found local sponsors here. We are happy here," said Massmann. As graduates of a Danish school, the two are also supported by the Danish state during their studies. The course towards Weymouth seems to have been set, but the Flensburgers do not want to revise their goals for this year upwards. "We want to be in the top 16 at the World Championships on Lake Garda in order to fulfil the B squad criteria. We won't deviate from that," says the 21-year-old helmsman.
Moana Delle crossed the finish line exhausted but happy. The sixth victory in the sixth race was a demonstration of her superiority in this field. When the 20-year-old celebrated her first Kiel Week success, the entire competition still had two rounding tonnes to go. However, the former student of the Kiel sports boarding school was modest: "I didn't expect things to go so well. A lot of the top surfers weren't there because of the clash with the European Championships. But some Olympic athletes were already at the start." She attributes her strong performance in Kiel primarily to the intensive training in recent years. "Moving to boarding school was the right decision. Now I'm reaping the rewards of my hard work." With her impeccable record, Moana Delle and Great Britain's Paul Goodison in the Laser won the Roosevelt Cup for the best Kiel Week winners across all classes.
Heiko Kröger's victory on his home turf is only supposedly routine. He won for the fourth time in the 2.4 mR. "But every win is different, and every win is nice," says the disabled sailor, who won in the mini-twelve class, which was open to all this time. The cornerstone of his success was Kröger's consistency. "Everyone else had a bad day from time to time."
Other strong results for the German Sailing Association (DSV) were achieved by Toni Wilhelm in second place in the windsurfing category, the fifth-placed Starboat sailors Alexander Schlonski/Frithjof Kleen (Rostock), the 470 women Wibke Wriggers/Geeske Genrich (Hanover) in fifth place and their classmates Jan-Jasper Wagner/Lennart Scheufler (Berlin) in sixth place in the men's category.
In view of this German result, the designated sports director of the DSV, Nadine Stegenwalner, was very satisfied: "This is a good start to the Olympics. But there is still a lot to do before 2012. We want to do better in Weymouth than we did in Qingdao."
The Brits, who are usually so spoilt for success, had to make do with the Laser success of Olympic champion Paul Goodison off Kiel. Paige Railey won the Laser Radial women's competition, her second American victory alongside Mark Mendelblatt's Star boat success. Katie Spithill and her women's match-race crew won gold for Australia, Lisa Westerhof won laurels for the Netherlands in the 470, while European champion Semi Fantela (Croatia) dominated the men's 470. The Polish double victory was completed by surfer Przemyslaw Miarczynski and Finn sailor Rafal Szukiel.
2.4mR (11W): 1. Heiko Kröger (Timmerhorn) 5,3,3,(6),1,2,2,3,3,2,3; Punte 27, 2. Thierry Schmitter (NED) 2,(12),7,5,5,4,1,1,1,4,2; 32, 3. Jens Als Andersen (DEN) 1,1,1,2,4,3,8,15,8,11,(15); 54, 4. Megan Pascoe (GBR) 8,5,11,3,2,1,10,10,(21),5,8; 63, 5. Eberhard Bieberitz (Sukow) 3,2,4,11,(14),6,3,7,7,10,10; 63, 6. Andre Rademaker (NED) 4,11,2,17,16,(17),4,4,2,6,4; 70,
Laser Radial W (6W): 1. Paige Railey (USA) 2,1,(2),1,1,2; points 7, 2. van Acker Evi (BEL) 1,(9),1,2,4,4; 12, 3. Anna Tunnicliffe - Funk (USA) (7),2,1,1,5,8; 17, 4. Dobson Charlotte (GBR) 2,(15),3,3,1,14; 23, 5. Mihelic Tina (CRO) 4,11,5,(38),2,6; 28, 6. Alberte Holm Lindberg (DEN) 3,5,4,6,(10),10; 28,
Star (5W): 1. Mark Mendelblatt/Mark Strube (USA) 3,4,4,3,4; points 18, 2. Hamish Pepper/Craig Monk (NZL) 5,10,9,2,2; 28, 3. Iain Percy/Andrew Simpson (GBR) 7,2,2,1,16; 28, 4. Fredrik Loof/Johan Tillander (SWE) 9,6,1,16,12; 44, 5th Alexander Schlonski/Frithjof Kleen (Rostock) 6,9,22,4,8; 49, 6th Nicolas Celom/Edoardo Natucci (ITA) 14,12,5,9,10; 50,
Finn (5W): 1. Rafal Szukiel (POL) 1,6,8,10,2; points 27, 2. Kljakovic Gaspic Ivan (CRO) 4,8,3,5,8; 28, 3. Karpak Deniss (EST) 2,3,9,6,12; 32, 4. Dan Slater (NZL) 10,9,1,4,10; 34, 5. Thomas le Breton (FRA) 8,11.5,6,3,6; 34.5, 6. Edward Wright (GBR) 19,2,2,1,14; 38,
49er (9W): 1. Lennart Briesenick-Pudenz/Morten Massmann (Flensburg) 6,4,1,(10),2,3,17,2,4; points 39, 2. Yann Rocherieux/Morgan Lagraviere (FRA) 8,3,8,(15),3,12,1,4,8; 47, 3. Campbell-James Paul/Mark Asquith (GBR) 3,8,1,1,(16),20,8,7,2; 50, 4. Manu Dyen/Stephane Christidis (FRA) 8,13,(18),4,5,2,3,1,14; 50, 5th Federico Alonso/Arturo Alonso (ESP) (11),9,7,2,8,8,4,9,6; 53, 6th Peter Hansen/Sören Hansen (DEN) 4,1,(26),1,1,13,9,12,12; 53,
470 W (6W): 1. Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout (NED) 1,2,1,1,(21),4; points 9, 2. Henriette Koch/Lene Sommer (DEN) 2,1,(7),5,4,8; 20, 3. Ai Kondo/Wakako Tabata (JPN) 3,(6),2,4,2,12; 23, 4. Stacey Omay/Chelsea Hall (AUS) 6,(12),5,6,7,2; 26, 5. Wibke Wriggers/Geeske Genrich (Rostock) 5,3,4,(13),1,14; 27, 6. Annika Bochmann/Anika Lorenz (Falkensee) 14,5,(21),3,11,6; 39,
470 M (6W): 1. Sime Fantela/Igor Marenic (CRO) 4,1,1,(6),2,6; points 14, 2. Jonny McGovern/Christian Birrell (GBR) 5,5,4,2,(8),2; 18, 3. Nic Asher/Willis Elliot (GBR) 3,2,4,4,(31),8; 21, 4. Sven Coster/Kalle-Kristian Coster (NED) (14),8,1,4,5,4; 22, 5th Neil Marsden/Ian Dobson (GBR) 6,3,(8),3,1,10; 23, 6th Jan-Jasper Wagner/Lennart Scheufler (Berlin) (7),3,2,1,3,20; 29,
RS:X W (6W): 1. Moana Delle (Soest) 1,1,1,1,(1),2; points 6, 2. Anna Galecka (POL) (5),2,3,2,3,4; 14, 3. Tuuli Petaja (FIN) 2,3,(5),4,2,8; 19, 4. Bettina Honoré (DEN) 4,5,2,6,(7),12; 29, 5. Demita Vega de Lille (MEX) 3,6,4,3,(6),14; 30, 6. Nikola Girke (CAN) 6,(9),8,7,4,6; 31,
RS:X M (6W): 1. Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL) 1,1,(11),1,4,2; points 9, 2. Toni Wilhelm (Steinen) 2,(6),3,3,2,10; 20, 3. Byunggun Lee (KOR) (17),3,4,6,3,6; 22, 4. Taehoon Lee (KOR) 3,2,2,5,(8),12; 24, 5. Christian Freimueller (Böblingen) 7,(22),9,2,7,4; 29, 6. Maxime Lhuillier (FRA) 6,9,1,7,(18),14; 37,00
Laser (6W): 1. Paul Goodison (GBR) 1,1,1,1,(1),2; points 6, 2. Bullot Mike (NZL) 1,4,2,1,(52),8; 16, 3. Mihelic Daniel (CRO) (52),6,2,2,3,4; 17, 4. Andreas Geritzer (AUT) 2,3,4,2,(52),6; 17, 5. Nick Thompson (GBR) 8,3,1,1,(52),10; 23, 6. Marek Izdebski (POL) (52),8,1,2,1,12; 24.
Ladies Match Race: 1st K. Spithill (AUS); 2nd N. Souter (AUS); 3rd J. Bossard (FRA); 4th R. Goeneveld (NED); 5th L. Mcgregor (GBR); 6th G. Tulloch (USA); 7th S. Hahlbrock (Hamburg); 8th P. Lewin (BER);
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
