In addition to the German athletes, who make up more than half of the 800 entries, Denmark (63), Sweden (55) and Italy (51) are sending the strongest representatives. Flags from all continents will be on display, from Argentina, Aruba and Australia to Hong Kong, India, Morocco, South Africa, Ukraine, the USA and Cyprus.
The stars in the Olympic classes
Ilca 7: Nik Aaron Willim
Ilca-7 helmsman Nik Aaron Willim has ambitious plans. The 26-year-old has only just stepped out of the shadow of Laser world champion Philipp Buhl, beating the two-time Olympian in the battle for a ticket to the Pre-Olympics. Now Willim wants to let it rip on the fjord. The Kiel-based protégé of DSV coach Alex Schlonski's best result so far has been a fourth place. Now the podium is the goal: "It's a happening on my doorstep. Simply winning gold at home - that would be cool!"
Ilca 7: Ole Schweckendiek
The future belongs to 18-year-old Ole Schweckendiek. After becoming European Youth Champion in the Ilca 6 and winning Kiel Week 2022, the Kiel native made the switch to the Olympic Ilca 7 with top marks. The top talent became U21 World Champion at his first attempt. "That's hard to beat at first, but in the open age group the stakes are much higher." Ole Schweckendiek wants to "continue to train as much as possible" in order to assert himself in a competition where two-time Olympian and 2020 world champion Philipp Buhl has been the measure of all things nationally for years. That means above all in the gym, where he needs to gain muscle from 80 to 85 kilograms.
In Schilksee, the newcomer will take to the starting line one day after his last oral examination in sports on the subject of training theory as a newly qualified high school graduate. He has often only sailed two days a week recently due to the stress of his final exams. His aim is to achieve an average grade with a 1 before the decimal point; he will start studying business informatics in the winter semester. "There has to be a mainstay alongside sailing," says the success-obsessed realist. The Kiel Week serves as a "good orientation in a strong international field". At the beginning of August, he will go to the U21 European Championships in Stavanger, Norway, and in mid-October to the Junior World Championships in Morocco, where Ole Schweckendiek wants to assert himself at the top once again.
iQFoil: Sebastian Kördel
As the outstanding player in the new Olympic sailing discipline iQFoil, Sebastian Kördel is the windsurfing giant in the German Sailing Team. The reigning world champion and Olympic hopeful is looking forward to his start at Kieler Woche before he gets a taste of the Olympic test air at the Pre-Olympics in Marseille. The Radolfzell-born board king is competing for the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein and is working hard towards his declared medal target at the 2024 Olympics.
470s: Luise Wanser/Philipp Autenrieth
29 years after the last German 470 World Championship gold medal by Ines Bohn/Sabine Rohatzsch, it was Luise Wanser and Philipp Autenrieth (NRV/BYC) who restored lustre to the former German showpiece discipline with their World Championship victory. The 26-year-old helmswoman from Hamburg and her 33-year-old Bavarian coxswain are part of the German 470 trio alongside Malte and Anastasiya Winkel and Simon Diesch/Anna Markfort, who are aiming for an Olympic medal in 2024, both with and against each other.
49er FX: Marla Bergmann/Hanna Wille
"Having the whole family and all your friends close to the action of a high-quality regatta and celebrating with them afterwards makes Kiel Week particularly unique," Marla Bergmann is certain. Together with Hanna Wille, she wants to finish in the top ten of the 49erFX class, after the two Kiel students narrowly missed out on the medal race last year. The Kiel Week is to be enjoyed as a home match before travelling to the Olympic test event in Marseille/France.
Qualifying for this also makes the 21-year-old helmswoman and her one-year-older foresailor the favourites for the 2024 Olympic tickets. "Being there would be everything to attack the medals in 2028," says Marla Bergmann. After winning the 2021 Junior World Championships, the duo prioritised their sporting goals. At the World Championships in The Hague in August, the aim is to secure a place on the national team for Marseille. They are not thinking about the national elimination for the time being. "We'll work together in a joint training group for as long as we can," says Hanna Wille, "individual interests have to take a back seat."
It remains to be seen whether they will launch their new "pearl" in Kiel. "Magali", a French girl's name with the same meaning, is the name of their new boat, which they only christened last Friday at their home club Mühlenberger Segel-Club in Hamburg. Bergmann: "We will probably tune it optimally for the World Championships first." But as of now, two 49er FXs are ready for the double Olympic campaign in order to follow in the footsteps of the silver medallists from Japan, Tina Lutz and Susann Beucke, in the medium term.
49er, Nacra 17 and Ilca 6
Out of 77 starters from 27 countries in the 49er, Jakob Meggendorfer and Andreas Spranger's minimum goal is to make it into the top ten medal race on their doorstep. As the only crew in the German Sailing Association's Olympic squad, the sixth-placed team from the 2022 World Championships in Halifax, Canada, are also seeded for the Olympic Test Event at the beginning of July. The DSV team there also includes Julia Büsselberg from Berlin in the Ilca 6, where the international competition is led by last year's winner Mara Stransky from Australia. In the Nacra 17, the local bronze medallists from Enoshima/Japan, Paul Kohlhoff and Alica Stuhlemmer, are among the top favourites.
International classes
There are multiple world champions in the eleven international boat classes. Severin Gericke and Xaver Schwarz in the 420, Kai-Uwe Lüdtke and Kai Schäfers in the Flying Dutchman and the Dane Jesper Armbrust in the Contender will ensure this. Numerous defending champions of Kiel Week 2022 will also be competing again. Heiko Kröger is already aiming for his 14th overall victory in the 2.4mR. For the Hungarians Szabolcs Majthényi/Andras Domoskos in the FD, it would be their eighth. And Sören Dulong Andreasen has won in a row in the Contender since 2019.
ORC cable cars: Michael Berghorn
Michael Berghorn from Hamburg has been honoured with a world championship title. The owner and helmsman of the "Halbtrocken 4.5" from the Kieler Yacht-Club won the 2021 ORC Sailing World Championship. The reigning European champion sees Kiel Week as a dress rehearsal for the World Championship in August at the same venue. The Mills 45 will receive new sails, for the first time from North Sails, which will be tested and the trim optimised. "We want to build up our self-confidence and of course not lag behind," is Berghorn's objective, who has also added the Aal Regatta to his calendar at short notice in addition to the Kiel Cup. "It's basically a coastal race, just like the World Championships, and it's good training."
This means that Michael Berghorn will be one of the very few participants to be active on all nine days of Kieler Woche. From Thursday, he will be competing in the International German J/70 Championship with the "Halbtrocken light". The businessman founded a club specifically for this purpose and recruits young talent for ORC sailing from the crews. A new grinder was recently discovered for the Mills 45. In addition, as many water days as possible count for the helmsman in order to get a feel for the boats and turn practice into routine.
