Regatta: The 470 World Championship is a matter of Olympic to-be or not-to-be

For most people, the new working week begins on Monday. For Germany's best 470 sailors, the battle for Olympic glory this summer begins off Vilamoura in Portugal. After a series of regatta cancellations during the coronavirus pandemic, the DSV players only have the World Championships left to secure the missing Olympic Nations' starting place for the 470 men and individual Olympic tickets for the men and women. At the 470 summit with 29 men's duos from 19 nations and 27 women's crews from 18 countries, the sporting stakes are higher than ever.

In order to be allowed to compete at the Olympic Games, the German 470 men must first secure the last remaining national starting place for a European 470 crew at the World Championships from 8 to 13 March. But they are by no means the only ones who want it. The Austrians, the Swiss, the hosts, Hungary and other nations also want to take advantage of this last chance to be part of the 470 men's field at the 2020 Olympics in 2021.

"There are still six nations, each with one to three crews, competing for this last European starting place. It will perhaps be the toughest competition of our campaign," says Simon Diesch (Württembergischer Yacht-Club), who has formed one of the two top German teams with coxswain Philipp Autenrieth (Bayerischer Yacht-Club) since 2016. The helmsman's name stands for goodness and gold, as his uncle and his father Jörg and Eckart Diesch sailed to Olympic victory in the Flying Dutchman in 1976. 45 years later, the junior is now fighting for his Olympic chance. Just like his team-mates Malte Winkel and Matti Cipra (Schweriner Yacht-Club/Plauer Wassersportverein).

At the same time as the major joint task of securing a place on the national starting list, Diesch/Autenrieth on the one hand and Winkel/Cipra on the other are also aiming to achieve the best possible result and, above all, a better result than the other crew in order to secure their personal Olympic ticket. The two objectives are not always compatible, as a "private duel" for the Enoshima ticket could potentially put the required national starting place out of sight. But Winkel says: "I don't see any 1:1 situations. We all know how important the national starting place is. And I don't see any pressure either. We've grown together over the winter and are just really looking forward to the World Championships." In fact, the two DSV crews have trained together a lot under the direction of coach Tytus Konarzewski and exchanged ideas intensively. Diesch and Winkel brought boats and equipment to Vilamoura together in a car.

Austria's David Bargehr and Lukas Mähr (AUT 1) explain the World Championship battle for the nations' starting place

Over the past few months, the organisers there have successfully overcome all the coronavirus hurdles and, with infection figures recently falling in the Loulé region, were able to give the green light for the 470 showdown, which will also feature four German women's crews with Olympic goals. Although the 470 sailors had already secured their place on the international starting grid in 2019, the only remaining elimination regatta will decide who gets to compete. The favourites are Berliners Frederike Loewe/Anna Markfort (Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee/Joersfelder Segel-Club). Nadine Böhm/Ann-Christin Goliaß (Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club), Theres Dahnke/Birte Winkel (Plauer Wassersportverein/Schweriner Yacht-Club) and the newly formed duo Luise Wanser/Anastasiya Winkel (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) will also be battling it out for an Olympic ticket.

Even before the start of the World Championships, it is clear that the coronavirus pandemic will have a strong influence on the pre-Olympic events and the course of the qualification. The rejuvenation to just one elimination regatta will not only require outstanding sailing skills, but also strong nerves and the ability to call on the best performance at the crucial time. This means that this World Championship will be very close to the Olympic regatta in many areas. The men will be missing the defending champions in particular: Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan, winners of the last World Championships held in 2019, announced early on that they would not be able to compete in Europe during the pandemic. For the three Winkels flying the German flag, the World Championships will once again be a family affair: Malte Winkel, his wife Anastasiya Winkel and his sister Birte Winkel are fighting - each in their own team - for their Olympic dream. A maximum of two of them can realise it.