Olympic sailing: Showdown off Vilamoura: family duel for an Olympic ticket

The starting position could hardly be more exciting: At the 470 World Championship in the Algarve, two German women's crews have qualified for the medal race on Saturday at 12.40 pm. This means that both crews have kept their chance of just one Olympic ticket. After fulfilling the DOSB criteria for an Olympic start, it is now a thrilling duel to see which of the two teams can secure the coveted Enoshima ticket in the final sprint.

Theres Dahnke and Birte Winkel (Plauer Wassersportverein/Schweriner Yacht-Club) will go into the decider in eighth place after eleven World Championship races with 99 points to their name. However, the sailors from Kiel are only one point ahead of Luise Wanser and Anastasiya Winkel (100 points) from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein. "That's like equal points," says Luise Wanser and others. The scenario for the World Championship showdown is as dramatic as it is clear: whichever of the two teams with the sail numbers GER 20 (Dahnke/Winkel) and GER 69 (Wanser/Winkel) crosses the finish line first in the double scored medal race of the top ten will qualify for the Olympic regatta this summer. The final World Championship race will decide which of the two duos will fulfil their dream of taking part in the Olympics.

DSV Sports Director Nadine Stegenwalner, who is accompanying the German Sailing Team in Portugal, is also looking forward to the final with excitement. She said in the evening in Vilamoura: "It is a great achievement that two German crews are in the World Championship final of the top ten. Both crews sailed a great World Championship and have younger helmswomen who are already performing very well in the senior category. They will also be a force to be reckoned with in the future. Whoever prevails in the final on Saturday will certainly also represent Germany well at the Olympics." The medal races will be broadcast live from Saturday afternoon. The Homepage of the World Cup organisers (please click) offers the live link on the day of the event.

The German 470 men finished the World Championship less fortunate than the two most successful women's crews. Neither Simon Diesch/Philipp Autenrieth (Württembergischer Yacht-Club/Bayerischer Yacht-Club) nor Malte Winkel/Matti Cipra (Schweriner Yacht-Club/Plauer Wassersportverein) were able to secure the necessary national starting place for their discipline. The Southern Germans finished the World Championships in 15th place, the Northern Germans in 17th. The strong sailing Swiss and the Austrians also came away empty-handed in the battle for just one free national starting place for a European team. The Swiss Kilian Wagen and Gregoire Siegwart were hit particularly hard, as they were disqualified with a premature start in the eleventh and final race and missed out on the medal final. The much-coveted nation's starting place was secured by the Portuguese World Championship hosts, Diogo and Pedro Costa. Under pressure, they not only prevailed in the battle for their Olympic dream, but also finished second after eleven races in the final in their home waters and are now sailing for a World Championship medal. The Swedish favourites Anton Dahlberg and Fredrik Bergström are the front runners going into the medal race on Saturday afternoon, which will take place before the showdown for the women from 12 noon.

Malte Winkel, who cooks for several sailors of the German Sailing Team in the team accommodation in Vilamoura, had a challenging task of a family nature on the eve of the World Championship decisions. Two of them are his wife Anastasiya Winkel and his sister Birte Winkel. Only one of them will be able to fulfil her dream of competing in the Olympics on Saturday. The conciliatory message for the brother and husband with a divided heart: one member of the family is sure to compete at the Olympics.