Brilliant final spurt for the German Sailing Team in Enoshima: All or nothing? Everything is possible!

The last time German sailors had so many chances of winning medals was at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. There were four hopes for precious metal from Enoshima on Saturday evening. Philipp Buhl had already contributed to this the day before with his blistering ride through the final day (32nd, 1st) and fourth place before the medal final of the ten best laser sailors on Sunday from 2.30 pm local time (7.30 am German time). Their team-mates followed suit today. The 49erFX sailors Tina Lutz and Susann Beucke were particularly effective. The duo were so efficient that coach Barker gave them a big hug in the Olympic harbour after the races. This is something that the reserved and objectively orientated Ian Barker rarely or never does. His protégés deserved the special show of respect. With 7th, 3rd and 3rd place, Tina Lutz and Susann Beucke moved up to third place in their skiff fleet just in time for the final on Monday.

Tina Lutz and Susann Beucke received additional motivation for this decisive day for the 49erFX medals from their team-mate Erik Heil on the way out to their course "Kamakura". He called out to them that the three important races of the day, which had first been postponed in light winds and then rescheduled, would not be made up if they were cancelled altogether. "That made us fight even harder when the races actually took place," said Susann Beucke in the evening. "We went into the day 20 points behind the leaders and knew that we absolutely needed and had to use these races to reduce the gap before the final. Now we have another chance." Neither she nor Tina Lutz will say what - nothing less than gold, silver or bronze are within reach. But the skiff acrobats don't even want to think about the fact that it's been 25 years since Germany's last Olympic victory. Jochen Schümann, Thomas Flach and Bernd Jäkel sailed their Soling "Extra 3" to the last Olympic victory for the DSV fleet in 1996. "You have to banish all thoughts of a medal from your mind if you want to sail successfully in the final," Tina Lutz told herself and her foresailor.

However, the starting position for the GER women's skiff is at least promising: Tina Lutz and Susann Beucke, in third place with 73 points on their Olympic account, are only three points behind the Dutch double world champions Annemiek Bekkering and Annette Duetz, who are ahead of them on points, and the Brazilian title defender Martine Grael (both 70 points). That makes a difference of two places in the doubles medal final, which Lutz/Beucke would have to make up on the leading teams in order to finish at the top. However, there is also a threat from behind, as Tamara Echegoyen does not want to keep her current fourth place, which she occupied at the end of the Olympic regatta five years ago. The prominent and likeable match race Olympic champion, round the world sailor and 49erFX world champion and her foresailor Paula Barcelo have big plans for the women's skiff final on 2 August: "We will do everything we can for a medal." The Spaniards will start the final four points behind Tina Lutz and Susann Beucke. "Anything from first to seventh place is still possible," said Susann Beucke in view of the close-knit lead and the dense chasing pack. It is already clear how the two German medallists intend to approach the final. Susann Beucke says: "We sailed bravely today and have to be just as brave again on Monday." Tina Lutz puts it in a nutshell: "All in!"

Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel are even more "all in", as they are ten points behind silver or bronze before the final, and 14 points behind the leading New Zealand favourites Peter Burling and Blair Tuke. After a weak start to the Olympics, the Kiwis once again lead the standings with 52 points. They are followed by the Brits Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell and the Spaniards Diego Botin Le Chever and Iago Lopez Marra in second and third place with 56 points each. The task for the German Rio bronze medallists is therefore greater than that of the FX women, but the chance of a medal is still alive. Foreskipper Thomas Plößel is counting on the tailwind from Rio: "We won't be as shaky on the boat on Monday as we were back in Rio. Not this time. Experience will help."

Plößel was unable to completely suppress his team's disappointment at missing one of the three races on Saturday: "There was an internal coordination error in the pre-start phase of race eleven, when we got involved in a tactical duel with the Japanese. We misjudged the time, because jibing with them and then slamming downwind doesn't work as well in light winds as it does in more pressurised conditions. We still managed to get out quite well on the first cross, but unfortunately not on the second." As a result, the gap to the leading teams has widened more than hoped. Nevertheless, Heil and Plößel will take second and fifth place from the final day and the realisation that they have reached an Olympic medal race for the second time in 20 years in one boat. "We are proud to have made it back into medal reach."

Paul Kohlhoff and Alica Stuhlemmer provided further good news in Sagami Bay off Enoshima. The mixed catamaran sailors confidently defended their third place in the intermediate classification, even in the light winds that they had previously not loved, and are on course for a medal three races before the end of the main round. The prospects are bright after the all-round performance shown so far. The good feeling of having successfully kept teams such as the Australian silver medallists from the 2016 Olympic Games or the Argentinian Olympic champions Santi Lange and Cecilia Carranza Saroli at bay so far does not tempt the youngest crew in the German Sailing Team to be overconfident. "It was very difficult for us to assess what we could do here beforehand because we haven't seen many teams for a very long time," explained foresailor Alica Stuhlemmer. "That's why it's pleasing what we've achieved so far." That was the understatement of the seventh day of the Olympic regatta. DSV Sports Director Nadine Stegenwalner had plenty of praise for the series of good results achieved by her team members: "Our teams are doing really well. The fact that we can report so many positive things from Enoshima shows that we have made really good steps forward in recent years."

The RS:X windsurfers took their final steps onto the podium on Saturday. The final decisions were made in the two medal races. China's Yunxiu Lu came out on top in the women's triathlon ahead of French defending champion Charline Picon and Britain's Emma Wilson. During the showdown, several changes in the lead ensured high tension. The men's final was a completely different story. Three medal candidates were diqualified due to early starts. While Kiran Badloe already had his Olympic victory - the third in a row for a Dutch surfer after two triumphs by Dorian van Rijsselberghe - safely in the bag anyway, Frenchman Thomas Guyard was able to save his silver medal. China's Kun Bi benefited from the "mass extinction" of the precious metal contenders and could hardly believe his luck with bronze. Poland's Piotr Myszka, who had fought such thrilling duels with Toni Wilhelm in Rio de Janeiro, was one of the disqualified early starters, but reacted with the wisdom of a 40-year-old experienced competitor: "I was just surprised that there was no general recall with so many early starters. But my tears wouldn't help anyone. I'm still happy that I'm still so competitive at my age."

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Dates: 1 August ZDF; 2 August ARD; 3 August ZDF; 4 August ARD
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