Ten years of 49er boat experience and plenty of head training in medical and engineering studies - this is how Erik Heil describes the recipe for success of his team with foreskipper Thomas Plößel in a nutshell. The Rio bronze medallists from Berlin won the top-ranked World Cup regatta off Miami despite their current training backlog of several months. In the 49er, the veterans were unstoppable even after a crash on the first day through no fault of their own. The experienced crew coped best of all 42 49er teams from 21 countries in the extremely complicated light and shifty winds on Biscayne Bay, relegating the British Olympic aspirants Dylan Fletcher-Scott and Stuart Bithell as well as the Croatian world champions Sime and Mihovil Fantela to silver and bronze. "We like it when the conditions get difficult," said Heil, describing one of his preferences that benefited his team this week in the American territory.
The two 28-year-old sailors from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein led a German final armada that has never been seen before with their victory on Saturday: No fewer than four GER boats were in the 49er medal race. Jakob Meggendorfer (23) and Andreas Spranger (22) from the Bayerischer Yacht-Club sailed to fourth place in the final classification with fifth place in the final. "We're super happy about that," said Andreas Spranger, "we were already third in the World Cup at the Midwinters and therefore started the World Cup with confidence and a good feeling. Our speed was right. In view of the relatively large fleet of 40 boats, we focussed on clean starts. For us, this fourth place is the biggest success of our career so far."
World Championship bronze medallists Tim Fischer and Fabian Graf (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein/Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee) finished their season opener in the 49er in seventh place, just as successfully as Kiel's Justus Schmidt and Max Boehme, who had started the medal race a little too impetuously and were disqualified - like three other finalists from England, Holland and Spain. The overall result of the German 49er quartet, whose seniors are trained under the direction of Marc Pickel from Kiel, while Max Groy from Fleckeby coaches the perspective squad, is a challenge to the international competition a year and a half before the Olympic Games and also promises high-calibre competition at national level. "The elimination will be a big battle," predicted Thomas Plößel.
While the German skiff sailors were celebrating, Laser helmsman Philipp Buhl was once again, and for the last time, complaining about the Miami World Cup, which was not his this year. Buhl has to think back many years to remember a regatta in which he once performed as poorly as he did at this season-opening summit in Florida. "It's my worst Laser result in eight years," he summarises. "I've only been worse four times in my career." The 29-year-old, who is usually such a reliable performer, finished the series in 32nd place, having only found his way into the top ten in three of eleven races in Biscayne Bay. Buhl's young team-mate Nik Aaron Willim, who had made a name for himself with two wins on the day, flies home from the 30+ degree Florida to cold northern Germany in 41st place.
The 49erFX sailors Vicky Jurcok and Anika Lorenz, who had been consistently among the world's best at this regatta, had to settle for 18th place even before the medal race of the skiff sailors after a botched final day. Just one weak day at the end and a total of two early starts meant that the Berlin women from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club crashed out at the end.
Kiel's Max Kohlhoff, who has been getting better and better this week, was unlucky to just miss out on a place in the final of the top ten Finn helmsmen in eleventh place. Kohlhoff said goodbye to Miami after winning the day with a convincing fourth place in the eighth and last Finn race before the final. In addition to the medal decisions in the 49er, the winners and runners-up in four other classes were honoured on Saturday: Australians Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin beat Brazilians Samuel Albrecht and Gabriela Nicolino de Sa and Olympic champions Santi Lange and Cecilia Carranza Saroli into second and third place in the Nacra 17 final. In the 49erFX, the Brazilian Olympic champions Martine Soffiatti Grael and Kahena Kunze triumphed ahead of the New Zealanders Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech. World Cup bronze was won by Great Britain's Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey.
Here to see the final results of the regattas that have already finished. Five sets of medals will still be awarded on Sunday evening German time. The 470 sailors have secured their chances of winning a medal: Frederike Loewe and Anna Markfort from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club will start the final as frontrunners. Lurking just three points behind them are Britons Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre. One point behind them, Fabienne Oster and Anastasiya Winkel from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein will be fighting for precious metal, which the teams in fourth to eighth place can still dispute. Another thrilling final is therefore on the cards from a German perspective. Watch the live broadcast on Sunday from 6 pm German time at here.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
