World Championship Ilca 7: Philipp Buhl opens Down-Under World Championship strong after "small start shock"
Tatjana Pokorny
· 26.01.2024
Ilca 7 World Championship: Buhl confident at the start
Four years after his first World Championship victory in Melbourne, Australia, in February 2020, Germany's best laser sailor Philipp Buhl is once again fighting for a World Championship medal in Down Under in the oldest active Olympic class Ilca 7. The 34-year-old from Immenstadt managed the two opening races on Friday almost perfectly, even if the first race had started anything but optimally ...
Philipp Buhl explains: "The first start was a bit of a shock for me. I was just a few metres too late and it turned into a bad start. I was quickly 15 to 20 metres behind three quarters of the field. I thought to myself: 'Okay, that's not how it works now. The fact that I was then able to move up to third place with a good nose and patience was great! And the second race anyway." Ilca 7 helmsman Buhl won his second race with aplomb.
If there's one thing you want, it's not to score too many points in conditions like these. I managed to do that today" (Philipp Buhl)
"Of course I'm very happy with a start like this. I've known at least since the Australian championship (Editor: Buhl came third) that I can sail fast in a wind like today, between 15 and 20 knots. But it's not a sure-fire success just because you've performed well once. You still have to do things properly."
Four-time World Championship medallist Buhl (1x gold, 1x silver, 2x bronze) knows only too well how important it is to deliver a consistently top performance without too many outliers at major regattas. "If there's one thing you want, it's not to collect too many points in conditions like these. I managed to do that today. The first day is still a special one, even in my 15th World Championship. I was a little nervous before the start. Now we'll see how it goes. I did a good job today for a start. Now it's time to recover!"
Philipp won the second race by a large margin. That was really good" (Alex Schlonski)
Philipp Buhl's team-mate Nik Aaron Willim was initially in 29th place after finishing 19th and fourth. The two helmsmen from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein are competing for just one ticket to the Olympic regatta in Marseille this summer in the national Olympic elimination after having already secured a place in the Nations Cup. Philipp Buhl leads the internal rankings by four points after the first of the three qualifying regattas. The World Championship marks part two of the elimination process.
DSV coach Alex Schlonski commented on the start of his Ilca 7 protégés in Adelaide: "That was a solid start from Philipp today. We are still sailing in groups. That's a bit easier, but he did well and had good speed. Third and first place today were good. He won the second race with a big lead. That was really good. Nik had slight problems getting into the race. He did much better in the second race. He made a sensible start, was third at the top and finished fourth. He also found his speed."
Everyone is fit and we are looking ahead with motivation" (Alex Schlonski)
The coach's verdict after the first of six days at the World Championships: "Hopefully the boys are now well into the competition. Then I hope for good results again tomorrow. Everyone is fit and we are looking ahead with motivation." Philipp Buhl's well-known Norwegian training partner Hermann Tomasgaard took the lead after day one of the World Championships ahead of Australian Ilca 7 ace Luke Elliott. Australian Olympic champion and defending champion Matt Wearn initially lined up in sixth place in the top ten.
