The Games of the XXXII Olympiad: The small Olympic luck of the sailors in Enoshima

The Olympic harbour in Enoshima is filling up every day. The Australians, Kiwis and Brits are the last teams still expected. Training for the Olympics officially began on 15 July. The German Sailing Team had previously moved into the Olympic Village. The rooms there are kept simple. "We sleep on cardboard boxes that have been put together to make surprisingly firm beds. That's actually quite funny. The room is spacious and we have a nice view of the water," says Laser world champion Philipp Buhl, who shares his room with Nacra 17 helmsman Paul Kohlhoff. The DSV sailors were greeted by lucky pigs on their pillows and other welcome gifts - with best wishes from the German Sailing Team led by DSV Sports Director Nadine Stegenwalner. The large hotel, which has been converted into an Olympic satellite village for the sailors, has come to life. "We can move around a bit. The food is good, the hotel as a whole is working well," says Buhl after the first few days.

In Enoshima - around an hour's drive away and south-west of the Olympic metropolis of Tokyo - the same tough emergency restrictions are in place as everywhere else at these masked Olympic Games in Japan. Buhl reports: "You get a little used to the masks, but the fact that you're not allowed to talk at all, not while eating, not in the lift, not on the bus, that's really hard." Olympic life takes place - also to protect the athletes - in "bubbles" and from "bubble" to "bubble". It takes place between the Olympic village, the shuttle rides in the official Olympic buses and the action in the harbour and Sagami Bay.

While bubbles one and two are very strictly regulated, there is an air of freedom in the spacious harbour of Enoshima, which was the home port for sailors at the 1964 Olympic Games. "Sometimes people hug each other and it's not immediately penalised by the police," says Buhl with a quiet smile after the first few days. The 31-year-old from Allgäu is not the only one who misses being able to "give friends and opponents an elbow or a fist". Nevertheless, he sees the positive side of being an Olympic athlete: "Generally speaking, we sailors are pretty lucky that we have no problem catching each other on the water or in the harbour. It's perhaps a little different for wrestlers or in some other sports."

In the harbour itself, the Olympic sailors almost feel like they are in paradise. They all see the wide open spaces and the fact that they can sail without masks on their own boats as a stroke of luck for their outdoor sport at these Games, which have been dominated by the coronavirus pandemic. "There's a cool atmosphere here. Not as bad as I feared," says Buhl. The mood among the 350 sailors, many of whom spent three to eight hours after landing at Haneda Airport alone for the checks, coronavirus tests and other checks, is correspondingly buoyant. "As soon as you're in the harbour, i.e. through the barriers, there's this wonderful Olympic atmosphere," says Philipp Buhl and others. "The flags are flying everywhere, the team containers are ready, the boats are branded and the sailors are out and about in their team clothing. That's 100 per cent Olympic flair."

"The day before yesterday we had the branding for our Olympic boat, and yesterday we were allowed on the water for the first time. The design turned out really cool, and Enoshima welcomed us on the water with light winds and sunshine," says 49er helmsman Erik Heil, who won an acclaimed bronze medal with his co-skipper Thomas Plößel at the 2016 Olympic Games. This time too, the Berliners are among the favourites in the battle for the precious metal and in the wrestling match with high-flyers Peter Burling and Blair Tuke from New Zealand. Heil says: "We have four more days of training, then we'll start measuring the boat. Our first race start is on the 27th." The skiff sailors will only start the Olympic action two days after the Laser men, the Laser Radial women and the two RS:X surf representatives (without German participation).

Philipp Buhl completed his first pre-Olympic trip to Sagami Bay this Friday. His impression: "It was really nice to get out on the water today. Pleasant, moderate sea breeze on a pretty hot day and a clear view of Mount Fuji, which poked through the sea breeze clouds in the background." This is the backdrop for the Olympic regatta, which starts on 25 July.