"Strong start": Start of the season for the German Sailing Team: A good start with bronze and best 470 helmswoman

The German Sailing Team's results after the World Cup opener off Mallorca are positive: Laser world champion Philipp Buhl remains a bank with bronze in the ILCA 7, the German 470 mixed teams placed among the world leaders at the first major international regatta with the new Olympic discipline, the German board artists were able to convince - the overall impression made by both familiar and new GER teams in the bay of Palma de Mallorca is promising. DSV Sports Director Nadine Stegenwalner, who accompanied and observed her team on site, agrees: "That was a strong start and a very good first assessment of where we stand. We weren't at the start in all disciplines in our original line-up and had to put up with a few illnesses during the regatta, although all of our athletes behaved very carefully. However, we achieved very good results at this Trofeo Princesa Sofía. This is a great confirmation of the intensity and quality of the winter training and the work of the coaches and athletes."

After a long break and a return to training just two months ago, Philipp Buhl put in a convincing performance on his way to his desired third Olympic start, which was only dampened slightly by his last place in the medal race on the final day. The 32-year-old Olympic fifth-placer could not even remember if he had ever finished last in a final before. Nevertheless, the world-class performances he had shown beforehand were enough to secure his first World Cup bronze this season. "The medal race really didn't go particularly well for me," mused Buhl after the final with the top ten ILCA 7 helmsmen at the end of the six-day Spanish regatta, "I was able to implement our plan, but it didn't work out with a 30-degree wind shift and the wind switched off on the right-hand side. That was a bit disappointing. But I'm pleased with the good overall result and was able to work successfully on the start and start cross. It was nice to see how differently you sail when you're there from the start." Buhl's coach Alex Schlonski also attested to his protégé's successful start to the season: "That was a stupid medal final, although it started well and according to plan. I was happy that Philipp was able to realise everything at first, which didn't quite work out during the race. There was also a bit of bad luck today when the wind first turns at 30 degrees and then doesn't materialise at all. His overall performance was good." Only the Brit Michael Beckett and the Australian Olympic champion Matt Wearn were better this time. Before the award ceremony, Buhl took the opportunity to remember his team-mate Nik Aaron Willim, who did not want to risk taking part in the Spanish classic after falling ill with coronavirus: "That's an extreme shame because Nik sailed so strongly recently. I hope that we can attack together again at the French Olympic Week in Hyères at the end of the month."

Men vs. women: Luise Wanser was the most successful helmswoman in the 470 Mixed

Luise Wanser and Philipp Autenrieth were also eager to attack in the new Olympic discipline 470 Mixed. Because the helmswoman from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein and her coxswain from the Bayerischer Yacht-Club also thoroughly failed in the medal final with ninth place, they missed out on the podium they had hoped for, but were still able to celebrate their direct establishment among the world's best as fourth overall. Malte and Anastasiya Winkel also achieved a convincing top ten finish in eighth place, which Theres Dahnke and Matti Cipra also held when they - like a whole series of international sailors - were thwarted by corona. The Spanish top favourites Jordi Xammar and Nora Brugman secured victory in the 470 Mixed with an outstanding lead. It is interesting to take a look at the combinations in this new Olympic 470 competition, which will celebrate its premiere in Marseille in 2024 and allows either women or men at the helm. In the search for the ideal combinations, three helmsmen took the top three places with female coxswains off Mallorca. Luise Wanser was the best 470 helmswoman in the field and also the only one in the top five. With the strong Austrian Lara Vadlau alongside coxswain Lukas Mähr and the Brit Vita Heathcote with Ryan Orr, two more female coxswains finished in the top ten. The 470 mixed quota for the top 20 in Palma - 14 helmsmen and six helmswomen - showed the current trend.

The German 470 mixed teams were satisfied with their performance. Olympic sixth-placed Luise Wanser said: "The medal race today was a bit of a dampener. Who wants to finish fourth in the overall standings? We probably made a strategic mistake today in the strong winds and should have stayed closer to our direct opponents in the battle for the medals after the start. But we have also seen this week at the first 470 mixed regatta with a really good international line-up that we have the potential to win medals. That's a good realisation on the way to the next regatta, for which we now hopefully have a good one ..." 470 helmsman Malte Winkel said: "Tenth place in the medal race was certainly not the finish we had hoped for. But with a little distance, the overall performance will provide motivation. We realised that we had a little less training time due to our studies and that the start of the season could still be a little bumpy. However, we now know that we are among the front runners. We certainly don't have to hide as a team internationally."

"I am now very confident about what is yet to come"

This also applies to the athletes in the new Olympic disciplines Formula Kite for men and Formula Kite for women. Jannis Maus (Cuxkiters e. V.) and Florian Gruber (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) finished the series in fourth and sixth place among the world's elite. Jannis Maus, who only successfully completed his master's degree in physics in February, said: "I'm over the moon! You can see what's possible when I can finally concentrate solely on kiting. You can really get something out of it! I'm super confident about the season, I feel very fast upwind and downwind and want to stay in the saddle." Eleven months after the birth of her son Levi and hard work for her comeback, kiter Leonie Meyer also made a huge leap forward and achieved ninth place. She summarised: "Our field has become stronger with the new Olympic status, but also more compact. I was able to beat opponents who were ahead of me before the birth of our son, even Daniela Moroz! I hadn't expected that. I'm now very confident about what's to come."

"I think I need to work on my survival set-up a bit now"

iQFoiler Sebastian Kördel had to make a few sacrifices on the final day: having started the series in fourth place after a world-class performance, the 31-year-old from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein finished in seventh place overall after only one missed reach section. Unlike in the conventional sailing disciplines, in which the crews take their points from the main field into the final decision, the board competitors in the iQFoil and the kiters start again from scratch with their differently organised final rounds. Even one mistake can lead to an early exit in the quarter-finals. Despite his disappointment, Kördel said with a wink: "If we have wind between ten and 20 knots, nobody will overtake me on the straight. Maybe I wasn't relaxed enough today. I think I need to work a bit on my survival set-up now." The Rio bronze medallists Paul Kohlhoff and Alica Stuhlemmer (Kieler Yacht-Club), who had started the regatta in their usual strong form, were unlucky. The team had to withdraw from day three with a sick helmsman and is now banking on a comeback soon. The next big regatta for the best of the German Sailing Team is the French Olympic Week off Hyères from 23 to 30 April. Click here for the results of the first World Cup round off Palma de Mallorca (please click!).