Olympic sailing: "Right or wrong?"

The eagerly awaited pre-Olympic year begins for the German Sailing Team with the first World Cup regatta off Miami. The test of strength against the European and hardened overseas competition will provide the first insights into where the German national sailing team and its top performers stand a year and a half before the 2020 Olympic Games. Many DSV squad teams have used the winter season to train overseas. For example, World Championship bronze medallist Philipp Buhl from Segelclub Alpsee-Immenstadt, who has been preparing for the 2019 season in Australia and New Zealand and formulated the motto for the World Cup opener this morning: "The first regatta of the year starts today in Miami. Time to check whether the good feeling from my sailing at the start of the year is right or wrong." The Laser helmsman, who turned 29 shortly before Christmas, has set himself ambitious goals as usual: "I want to get off to a good start to the season and sail towards a medal."

Kiel 49er sailors Justus Schmidt and Max Boehme had a little more work to do before the start than most of their German team-mates. They had been drawn at random to have to take their high-performance dinghy to the pre-measurement. "So the day before the start, we had to dismantle our boat into its individual parts, put it on the scales and then put everything back together again." Today, the crew from the Kieler Yacht-Club is also ready for the start and feels fit. Helmsman Schmidt said: "We were in second place until the last day of the preceding 'Midwinters' in the area here off Miami, but then we really pushed ourselves hard in shifting winds. Overall, however, we feel ready and are looking forward to the first big regatta of the year. With 40 boats, we are a comparatively large field. You have to be careful that you don't get caught out right at the start. That happens faster than you can see. If we manage it properly, we should be sailing in the top ten. If that works, we can also make it to the front."

Olympic bronze medallists Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel, who have still not been able to return to full training due to their study commitments, are also in the mix. The two experienced Berliners will have to put up with four months of almost no sailing. "There are still a few rough edges missing. Sometimes you notice that in stressful situations," admits helmsman Heil candidly. The successful duo arrived in Miami ten days ago and have been training in the World Cup area ever since. However, the crew from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein also has some positive things to report: "Our boat speed is really good. On the last day of the pre-regatta, we were able to achieve two top-two finishes. We're getting there!"

World Championship bronze medallists in the 49er, Tim Fischer and Fabian Graf, are also starting the World Cup under difficult circumstances. The young bronze medallists are going into the races with "little to almost no time on the boat", but are nevertheless optimistic. An ankle injury to the right foot of foreskipper Fischer is as good as cured. However, they prefer to "go deep first", says Fischer, who on the other hand was able to realise after the training days in Miami that they went "very promisingly".

The Miami title defenders Victoria Jurczok and Anika Lorenz will also be at the start. The 49erFX sailors from Berlin have been working hard to get back to their top form after last year's disappointing World Championship in Aarhus. In the women's 470 field, Nadine Böhm/Ann-Christin Goliaß, Frederike Loewe/Anna Markfort and Fabienne Oster/Anastasiya Winkel are three teams fighting for a successful start to the season. Oster said: "We are using the World Cup as a regatta to see how far we have come with our preparations so far." In the men's event, the squad teams Malte Winkel/Matti Cipra and Simon Diesch/Philipp Autenrieth ideally want to sail into the top ten under the direction of their new coach Tytus Konarzewski. Malte WInkel said: "We feel optimally prepared for the World Cup. As it's the first big competition this year, we first have to see how well we can find our way in the strong field. Our aim is to build on our performance from last year and qualify for the medal race. The Japanese in particular have significantly improved their performance over the past year. Our focus is also on familiarising ourselves and finding our feet with our new coach Tytus Konarzewski."

Finn sailors Phillip Kasüske and Max Kohlhoff, whose discipline will no longer be an Olympic discipline after the 2020 Olympic Games, have also set their sights high. This season, the two German sailors - like some of their team-mates - will have to fight for national qualification for the Olympic regatta in Enoshima and, if they are successful, for individual qualification.

Despite various adversities, the German Nacra17 teams already showed great promise last year. Paul Kohlhoff/Alica Stuhlemmer and Johannes Polgar/Carolina Werner are expecting the first starting shot off Miami in the best of moods, even though Kohlhoff/Stuhlemmer only arrived shortly before the start of the regatta due to other commitments.