EM 49er, FX & Nacra 17: From full speed into the doldrums - Olympic starts in danger
Tatjana Pokorny
· 13.11.2023
Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille with "golden Sunday"
The Skiff and Nacra 17 European Championships in the Portuguese waters off Vilamoura came to an end without any medals for the German Sailing Team. What is more painful is that the Olympic starting places could not be secured at the second attempt either. The skiffs - Germany's favourite disciplines - are wobbling. This is especially true for the 49er men. In the women's 49erFX, on the other hand, Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille were able to impress. They came very close to a medal in fourth place at the European Championships and would have liked to have fought for the Olympic ticket for the German Sailing Team in the final. If only there had been a final.
One after the other: The Elbe sailors from Mühlenberger Segel-Club had a solid but not compelling start to the European Championships. Since Sunday, however, they have been the talk of the town. With three race wins in a row, they had catapulted themselves from 15th place to fourth. And suddenly they had a chance again. Both for a European Championship medal and for the only national ticket that was up for grabs for the 49erFX sailors and the 49er men at this European Championship.
Happy or annoyed?
But then the wind, which was already weakening during this week of the European Championships, completely failed to co-operate on the final day of all days. The calm swallowed up all the remaining fleet races and the medal races. Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille also had to stand idly by as their chances melted away like a fastball in the sun. Their fourth place at the European Championships, the best result of their six-year career together, stands in stark contrast to their failure to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Should we be happy or angry? "We're ending the European Championships with one eye crying and one eye laughing. It was fair to cancel the races today. The 49ers were out there and tried, but nothing worked. Nevertheless, we would have loved to have sailed and fought for more," said Marla Bergmann in the evening in Vilamoura.
The performance of the three race wins, when they were really important, can be described as sensational." Nadine Stegenwalner
DSV Sports Director Nadine Stegenwalner had plenty of praise for the two 22-year-old sailors on their way to the top: "The performance of the three race wins, when they were really important, can be described as sensational. That was an impressive performance from Marla and Hanna. They deserved the chance to fight for more." But the winds didn't want to play ball in this somewhat unusual Monday final.
Like the 49er men, where only Fabian Rieger and Tom Heinrich (Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee/Kieler Yacht-Club) made it into the gold fleet, the 49erFX women also have a third and final chance to secure an Olympic spot for their discipline at the beginning of April 2024. At the "Last Chance Regatta", which will take place off Hyères in France at the beginning of April, three national tickets are still available for both women and men. "We are quite optimistic that we can do it," said Marla Bergmann with cautious confidence.
Disappointment for the top performers in the 49er
For the men, the journey continues after a mixed year. Fabian Rieger and Tom Heinrich sailed to 23rd place as the best German 49er crew at the European Championships, while other top performers such as Jakob Meggendorfer and Jakob Spranger from the Bayerischer Yacht-Club, who finished sixth in the 2022 World Championships, missed out on a place in the gold fleet. They finished the European Championships in 29th place, one place behind their training mates Max Stingele and Linov Scheel from the Kieler Yacht-Club.
Both crews are capable of more and will have to work hard next spring to keep the dream of a German 49er team at the 2024 Olympics alive. History provides additional motivation: since the Olympic premiere of the men's skiff in 2000, there have been no Games without a German crew at the start.
Kohlhoff/Stuhlemmer reliably among the world leaders
Paul Kohlhoff and Alica Stuhlemmer have long since overcome this hurdle. The Nacra 17 experts from Kiel had already secured a place on the national starting list for their discipline at the World Championships in The Hague this summer and, due to the lack of equal competition in their own country, can concentrate fully on Paul Kohlhoff's third and Alica Stuhlemmer's second Olympic start. They struggled on some days in the light winds of the European Championships week, but on others they were able to show why they were Olympic bronze medallists in Japan in 2021.
"With so little wind around five to six knots, we are not the favourites to win a medal," said Paul Kohlhoff honestly on the evening of the final day, which was also cancelled for the Nacras. However, the fact that his team was always in contact with the leaders even on such difficult days gives the cat experts a boost. "This is a massive improvement for us in winds between six and ten knots. Our package is much better and we have become more competitive in these conditions. Even if it's still not enough." When the wind picks up, Kohlhoff/Stuhlemmer are immediately among the best.
We have achieved our most important goals this year." Paul Kohlhoff
Sixth place at the European Championships for Kohlhoff/Stuhlemmer is a fitting reflection of the year for the excellently coordinated duo, as Paul Kohlhoff himself notes: "We achieved our most important goals this year, were able to secure a place in the national starting line-up and collect a few points for the qualifiers. We may not always have done this in a glamourous way, but we did it solidly. That was important to us so that we can concentrate on the Olympics without these tasks."
