Sailing World Championship: 470 duos fight for medals, Leonie Meyer against Bruch

After a series of successful days, the national sailing team had to put up with a few setbacks on Wednesday at the Sailing World Championships in The Hague. Olympic bronze medallists Paul Kohlhoff/Alica Stuhlemmer (Kieler Yacht-Club) finished ninth after 15 races to qualify for the Nacra 17 medal race on Thursday, but once again failed to regain their outstanding form from the previous round, finishing 15th, 8th and 10th. The duo no longer have a chance of winning a medal, but have secured a place for Germany in their discipline for the 2024 Olympics.

We are incredibly disappointed" (Paul Kohlhoff)

"Perhaps we concentrated too much on this important task," said Paul Kohlhoff in the evening in Scheveningen harbour. He did not hold back with self-criticism: "We are incredibly disappointed. Our performance in the main round was so much worse than before. That was a surprising failure." In search of the reasons for the drop in the rankings, the 28-year-old helmsman said: "We always had similar conditions on the first three days and were able to learn from one day to the next. Perhaps our focus was too much on the national starting position afterwards."

The German 470 mixed crews start the medal race in the top ten from an exciting starting position on Thursday. While Japan's Keiju Okoda and Miho Yoshioka (39 points) secured the World Championship title early, Malte and Anastasiya Winkel (Kiel) have once again worked their way to the front with nerves of steel in the final sprint. The married and sailing couple are in third place with 80 points ahead of the double scored final. Only three points separate them from the second-placed Spaniards Jordi Xammar and Nora Brugman in the battle for silver.

Thrilling final for silver and bronze in the 470 mixed

Foresailor Anastasiya Winkel said about the scenario before the decision: "It's similar to the Olympic test regatta in Marseille. We want to attack. But there are too many opponents in the battle for the medals. You can't cover them all at the same time. So we want to implement our own plan, get as much of a lead as possible and defend it."

In their victory in the last race of the main round, Malte and Anastasiya showed the courage they would need for the final: Against the majority of the fleet, they had opted for the other side of the course because they expected pressure there - and they got it. They won the eleventh race of the 470 mixed fleet in dominant fashion.

Another strong overall performance by the German 470 mixed crews

Just one point behind the Winkels, Austria's Lara Vadlau and Lukas Mähr are also aiming for precious metal in the World Championship final. Just like Simon Diesch/Anna Markfort (Württembergischer Yacht-Club/Jorsfelder Yacht-Club), who are in fifth place with 82 points. The duo had to make up some ground on Wednesday after a strong second place and finished the day in 24th place, but still have a good chance of winning a medal.

The defending champions in the newly Olympic 470 Mixed, Luise Wanser and Philipp Autenrieth (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein/Bayerischer Yacht-Club), secured their place in the final in eighth place, but can hardly intervene in the battle for the medals. One consolation for everyone in the German Sailing Team's world-class 470 training group: Germany's place in the 470 Mixed is secured for 2024.

Buhl with light, shade and confidence

Ilca 7 helmsman Philipp Buhl had a strong race with fourth place on Wednesday, before finishing 36th and saying: "That really annoyed me, but I'm not going to grumble about my interim result." In fourth place in the largest World Championship fleet of 138 boats, the Allgäuer is still within striking distance of the medals.

Philipp Buhl has also made his mark so far in the national elimination for the individual ticket to the Olympic Games, which has already begun in Ilca 7. Competitor Nik Aaron Willim (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein), who surprisingly beat his champion and sparring partner in the pre-Olympics elimination, is in 18th place in the Ilca 7 after six of ten races up to the final. In the women's Ilca 6, Julia Büsselberg (Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee) dropped back to eleventh place, but remained within reach of the final.

Meyer with crash, breakage, bananas and an iron will

Kiter Leonie Meyer (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) has been outstanding in the World Championship area off The Hague since the start. Despite a persistent stomach bug and a broken foil, the 30-year-old athlete, doctor and mother defended her fourth place in the top World Championship field on Wednesday. She can hardly explain where she gets the energy for her outstanding performances: "I can just about manage two bananas a day."

A crash with the Spaniard Gisela Pulido Borrell meant that an experienced FES technician from the German Sailing Team had to take care of the repairs on Thursday night. The fourth-placed sailor said combatively: "It's not over until it's over. My intermediate result is mega good, much better than expected. The light winds are in my favour." Jannis Maus (12th, Cuxkiters) and Flo Gruber (15th, Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) are struggling a little more in the men's race.

Defending champion Kördel remains strong

Defending champion Sebastian Kördel was still in action late on Wednesday evening after a long wait with the newly Olympic iQFoilers and added another day's victory to his glittering tally. The windsurfing giant is in third place and well on course. In the women's iQFoil, in which the German windsurfers have been struggling to catch up with the world's best since their inclusion in the Olympic programme, Theresa Steinlein has taken a visible step forward. The 21-year-old from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein has already won two days at the World Championships and was in eleventh place shortly after the halfway point of her World Championship series on Wednesday evening.

There was less good news on the skiff front: after promising individual performances, neither the 49er FX women nor the 49er men managed to secure Germany's place in the 2024 Olympic Games at an early stage. To do so, they would have had to finish in the top ten at the Sailing World Championships in The Hague. Maximilian Stingele and Linov Scheel (Kieler Yacht-Club) were the best German 49er team in 17th place, while Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille (Mühlenberger Segel-Club), who had made such a promising start at the World Championships, finished the series in 19th place after an early start and a race abandonment.

The gold medals in the skiff have been awarded

Two more crews secured world championship gold at the North Sea summit of Olympic sailors even before the final: in the women's 49er FX skiff, the Swedes Vilma Bobeck and Rebecca Netzler are unbeatable. In the men's skiff 49er, Bart Lambrieux and Floris Van de Werken won the first World Championship gold for the Dutch hosts.

UPDATE (17 August): The standings in the 470 mixed have changed again late Wednesday evening. The top ten will go into the medal final on Thursday afternoon: 1. Okada/Yoshioka (JPN, 40 points); 2. Jordi Xammar/Nora Brugmann (ESP, 78 points); 3. Malte and Anastasiya Winkel (80 points); 4. Lara Vadlau/Lukas Mähr (AUT, 81 points); 5. Simon Diesch/Anna Markfort (82 points); 8. Luise Wanser/Philipp Autenrieth (96 points).

Click here for the results of the Sailing World Championships in The Hague.