Philipp Buhl did not start the 2019 pre-Olympic season according to plan. Two low-wind regattas with unpredictable, almost lottery-like winds have caught the Allgäu success guarantor on the wrong foot this year and thrown him off his stride. Although Buhl was always in the company of other prominent starters in his unusual places in the series that went wrong, that was no consolation. Buhl's 32nd place at the World Cup before Miami and 33rd place at the Spanish classic Trofeo Princesa Sofía showed one thing above all: things are not going well after the intensive winter training overseas.
Which is why the 29-year-old changed his plans at short notice, did not take part in the World Cup regatta off Genoa (where the fields were once again plagued by extremely light winds) and withdrew for a few weeks. "I'm taking a step back so that I can then take two steps forward," said Buhl and took the much-needed time out to get his body back into shape after a cold, optimise his hanging position in the Laser and make a few other adjustments.
Ideally, the 2018 World Championship bronze medallist wants to show what the break was worth for his head and body at the Laser European Championships from 18 to 25 May in Portugal. The entire world elite in the Laser is expected to compete for the continental crown and European Championship medals off Porto. The area seems to be made for Buhl: a long Atlantic swell and waters that are also popular with surfers due to the often fresh wind should suit the German number one in the Laser.
In his tenth year in the senior field and 455 days before the start of the XXXII Summer Olympics, Philipp Buhl takes stock of his successful career in a major interview with YACHT, which he has set his sights on completing. The athlete from the Alpsee-Immenstadt sailing club, who is known as an exceptional fair player and now also competes for the NRV Olympic Team, says: "I consider it a privilege to be able to sail at this level." The setbacks at the start of the season have not changed his declared goal: "I want to become world champion or Olympic champion." The 1.87 metre tall sailor believes he has "one hundred per cent" chance of doing so.
Buhl reveals who his role models are, how he deals with the growing pressure and what Jochen Schümann can do for him in an interview with YACHT, which you can read in issue 10, which will be available at newsagents from Thursday.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
