Laser world champion Philipp Buhl continues his Olympic career: "Because I love sailing"

He took some time to make his decision, even though the trend had long been there: Germany's most successful laser sailor Philipp Buhl remains a valuable player and Olympic medal candidate for the German Sailing Team. At the age of 31, the Allgäu native has embarked on his fourth Olympic campaign with heart and mind after an intensive process of deliberation. The aim is to qualify for the Olympics for the third time in a row and successfully fight for a medal off Marseille in two and a half years' time. "I'm continuing because I love the sport, the challenge and the brutally honest competition in the Laser so much," says Buhl, explaining his main motivation in deciding to continue his career.

Buhl also carries the world championship title with which he so formidably ended German sailing's two-decade-long gold medal drought at world championships in Olympic sailing classes at the beginning of 2020. For Buhl, it was the ultimate confirmation that he can be number one in the world. "The fact that I was able to win the title off Melbourne with a top line-up in the living room of the Australians, who have dominated the Laser for so long, simply made it twice as valuable. I'm still proud and happy about it today," he says.

However, Buhl's hunt for the equally longed-for Olympic medal is still unfinished. After a disappointing 13th place in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, he has already come very, very close to his goal with fifth place in Japan this summer. Only one unsuccessful regatta day before Enoshima cost him the Olympic medal he had set his sights on with great seriousness. Overall, however, things have mostly gone uphill for the hard worker, self-critical analyser and tireless driver in his career, despite a few setbacks.

After narrowly missing out on qualifying for the 2012 Olympics in Weymouth, Buhl initially became the dominant Laser player in his home country that he is today. With his first surprising World Championship bronze medal in 2013 in Oman, the then 23-year-old quickly became a top international player. This was followed by World Championship silver in 2015 off Kingston and another World Championship bronze at the World Championships in Denmark off Aarhus in 2018.

In between, there have also been a few dips in his results, which have shaped him just as much as the successes he is so thrilled about. "Just how tough the competition is in our class is shown by how quickly someone in the top ten has to finish a major competition outside the top ten," says Buhl, explaining the fascinating and motivating performance density in what is currently the oldest and most popular Olympic sailing discipline in the world, which is no longer called Laser but officially Ilca 7.

"My fire is still burning"

Philipp Buhl expects a similarly strong field for the 2024 Olympic sailing regatta off Marseille as in Japan: "It will be more or less the same good people. Maybe even Robert Scheidt will be there again." For the seasoned thoroughbred athlete Buhl, this scenario is all the more reason to dig even deeper into his work, to carry out even more intensive detailed work and self-critical analysis, and to optimise his actions even more. "I want to think through the new campaign very carefully, simply scrutinise and question everything and then make decisions that are good for me," he says. He learnt this kind of never-ending self-examination and questioning of all details from his father "in hundreds of hours at the kitchen table at home". Friedl Buhl is also the source of the phrase that his son has internalised: "You have to think outside the box time and time again."

Although Buhl already had the idea of continuing his career in his head in Japan, he wanted to test himself again from a distance: "I had to listen to myself to see if I was still on fire, if the glow was still there." Almost four months after the Olympic final, the answer to this key question was positive: "My fire is still burning." Buhl made his decision very consciously before talking to his partners about the future: "I've worked hard for and with my very loyal partners over the past few years. Now I first wanted to signal that I am one hundred per cent prepared to continue and then plan further on that basis."

"Buhl drills the board at the thickest point," three-time Olympic champion Jochen Schümann once said about the Allgäu native, describing Buhl's multiple challenges in the most competitive international Olympic sailing class for solo dinghy sailors. At this point, Buhl now wants to drill down further and says: "Of course the Olympic medal remains the goal." He would also like to savour the exuberant feeling of a world championship victory once again. After finishing sixth at the controversial World Championships this year, his next chance to do so will be at the World Championships in Mexico in May 2022.

When deciding in favour of continuing his career, Buhl also came to terms with the more difficult aspects of life as a competitive athlete: "Of course you have to put things like family planning on the back burner and have a kind of long-distance relationship." The beauty of competitive sport is also sometimes the difficulty: "You're travelling the world a lot." The great distance from home, where family and friends are his feel-good factors and where he wants to live again one day, often wears on him. While his colleagues in the German Sailing Team from Hamburg or Berlin don't have as far to travel home, the nine hours to the Allgäu mountains is a distance he can't easily overcome. "I was at home for long periods during the pandemic last year and realised how good that did me," says sports soldier Buhl, who lives in Kiel near the national base. His anticipation for the Christmas season at home in Berghofen is correspondingly high.

On course for Marseille 2024, where the next Olympic regatta will be held, Buhl also wants to take time out for other sailing activities. For example, he loves to gain fresh motivation on his Motte. "I'm always learning something new and fuelling my enthusiasm for my sport."