3rd World Inclusion Championships in Rostock: Basedow/Löschke are world champions

Top favourite Heiko Kröger had already pointed out Silke Basedow and Nadine Löschke as strong competitors before the start of the World Championships. And so it came to pass: The women's crew won the title at the Inclusion World Championships off Rostock. The eagerly awaited final, to which the best six of the 25 crews from seven countries had all turned up with a chance of winning, could not be completed at the end of the exciting series. Strong wind shifts had made it necessary to alter the course. The delay clashed with the time limit, which meant that the Inclusive World Championships had to finish without a showdown.

Nadine Löschke: "There was no way we thought we would go home as world champions"

Silke Basedow and Nadine Löschke earned their victory at the Inclusion World Championship with outstanding performances in the main round. They were the only crew from Hamburg to achieve seven victories in ten races. However, they did not expect to win the title. "There was no way we thought we would go home as world champions. But winning is great, and of course we now have to defend the title next year," said Nadine Löschke from the FC St. Pauli sailing club, beaming.

Her helmswoman Silke Basedow from the Hamburg Sailing Club was impressed and enthusiastic about the inclusive format, in which the teams each consist of one player with and one without a handicap. Women and men compete together or in mixed teams in their desired constellations. "It was my first inclusion regatta ever and it was great to see how much you can learn from each other. I realised here how many limits are simply in my head and what is possible. It was very inspiring," she summarised.

Beautiful impressions of the World Cup shows the project "We are We - Inclusion in Sailing" by Clemens Kraus

World Championship silver medallists were Lilli Zellmer from the Rahnsdorf 1926 sailing club and Johanna Schablowski on the SV/14 DSV youth national sailor boats. The foresailor suffers from muscle weakness caused by a metabolic disorder. Heiko Kröger, who has already won the Inclusion World Championship once and was runner-up at the World Championships and Paralympics in 2000, narrowly missed out on a place on the podium in the World Championships area of the Hanseatic city of Rostock with Clemens Kraus because Jens Kroker and Sabine Kroker-Hohmann overtook them in the final sprint before the final. As a result, the pair took world championship bronze. Click here to go directly to the World Cup results.

DSV President Mona Küppers was delighted with the informal atmosphere and intense competition on the water at the award ceremony. Andreas Sand from the non-profit Heinz Kettler Foundation, one of the financial sponsors of the Inclusion World Championships, said: "The World Championships are inclusion in action on and off the water. Three letters are enough to describe the World Championships: T-O-P! Everything is really well organised and everyone is thrilled." For him and his helmsman Erich-Thomas Aust, both from the Möhnesee Yacht Club, the Olympic idea of taking part in the races at the World Championships was what counted first and foremost.

Comeback in Rostock 2023: The signal for the new edition is there

The organisers and Sven Jürgensen's team summed up the event positively: "We are very satisfied. Everything went well and we received a lot of positive feedback about the event." Tobias König, Chairman of the organising Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, said: "I hope to see you again next year at the fourth World Championship in inclusive sailing in Rostock." The city of Rostock has already signalled its support for a repeat of the Inclusive World Championships in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's public-friendly city harbour. "I hope we can hold the event in Rostock again next year in a similar way," said Dr Heiko Lex, Head of the Rostock Sports Office. Stefanie Drese, Minister for Social Affairs, Health and Sport in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, also expressed her enthusiasm for the successful Inclusion World Cup at the award ceremony. Addressing the participants, she said: "Congratulations to all those who took part. Please all come back to Rostock next year."