470 Mixed World Championship: Luise Wanser and Philipp Autenrieth win their gold medal

The brutal double disqualification at the Olympic Games in Japan, which cost Luise Wanser and her then foresailor Anastasiya Winkel a possible medal in 2021, has been forgotten. The shocking refereeing error at the European Championships this year, which robbed Luise Wanser and Philipp Autenrieth of a tangible European Championship medal in the new Olympic discipline of 470 Mixed, has been ticked off. At the World Championships in Sdot Yam in Israel, Luise Wanser and Philipp Autenrieth did not let anything stop them from going for gold. They won the world championship with 60 teams from 20 countries after a dominant performance just one day before the final.

Click here for the final World Championship results with three German teams in the top six.

With the new world champions, the German Sailing Team is continuing its golden wave of success this autumn in rousing fashion: even the World Championship organisers dedicated several German-language headlines in their English press releases to the high-flyers Wanser/Autenrieth with "German dominance" and "Unstoppable".

The fact that 25-year-old Luise Wanser and 32-year-old Philipp Autenrieth suffered a crash in the final, in which the Italian team with multiple Opti World Champion and 470 newcomer Marco Gradoni and Alessandra Dubbini "shaved off" their port stern, did nothing to dampen the exuberant joy in the German camp. The North German-Bavarian duo dominated the world championships with an eleven-point lead over the Spanish runners-up Jordi Xammar and Nora Brugman. Bronze went to Camille Lecointre and Jérémie Mion from France.

Started out with sister and brother, now at the summit

"I always wanted to be world champion. From a purely sailing point of view, considering the large fleet of the 60 best teams in the world, it is the greatest achievement," said Luise Wanser, who was the first German sailor to win mixed gold in Olympic sailing. Just like Philipp Autenrieth with his brother Julian, Luise Wanser once also took off with her sister Helena in the 470. A long-cherished dream also came true for the foreskipper: "I switched to the 470 with my brother in 2009. It's unbelievable that we can now celebrate the title 13 years later."

DSV coach Steve Lovegrove attested his protégés a "fantastic series". The British 470 mixed coach said: "The two of them hit the ground running a year ago. Everything up to this point has been preparation for this peak. You can't expect a result like this, but you have to work hard for it. That has now been rewarded for the whole team."

Luise Wanser: "We were able to do our thing"

Philipp Autenrieth also thanked the other German crews in the national sailing team: "Without them, without the German Sailing Team and without our very intensive winter training in Lanzarote, we wouldn't have got to where we are now." Luise Wanser also knows: "This is an incredible team success. We had the privilege of always having at least two or three German boats together throughout the season. We didn't have to look for international sparring partners and were able to do our thing."

Wanser also sent greetings to her home club: "I got off to a flying start in the Opti at the NRV and am now a world champion. The NRV has always stood by my side." After the World Championship triumph of iQFoil World Champion Sebastian Kördel (NRV) last Saturday, this is the second World Championship gold for NRV athletes within a week. Once again, the NRV Olympic Team will pay out its gold bonus of 50,000 euros for world championship titles or Olympic victories. Luise Wanser said: "It motivated me enormously that Sebastian became world champion last week. He is my sister's boyfriend and I thought to myself: if he can do it, then so can we."

Philipp Autenrieth: "The pumping conditions took an enormous amount of energy"

And they made it, even if the journey was less easy than it looks on paper. Luise Wanser points to the consistent results of almost all the crews. Philipp Autenrieth explains: "It was very, very demanding. There were pumping conditions the whole time, which took a lot of energy. We gave it our all and it went well together." Luise Wanser agrees: "It wasn't easy, especially not for the skippers. We sailed very well tactically and strategically. Our victory shows that it was worth starting straight away last year. Even though I still had to finish my studies and Philipp took a lot of pressure off me during that time."

The fact that Luise Wanser competed in her snow leopard-print Lycra leggings on the penultimate day of the race proved to be a good omen: "I wore the leggings when I won the Junior World Championships with my sister Helena in 2019. I thought it might bring good luck ..." The Ziegelmayer 470 named "Daisy" carried the duo with sail number GER 10 quickly and reliably through the series. The dinghy got its name because Luise Wanser owns a T-shirt with the word "Daisy" on it and Philipp Autenrieth suggested it.

For the Olympic 470 class, which will celebrate its premiere as a mixed discipline off Marseille in 2024, it is the first World Championship gold since Ines Bohn and Sabine Rohatzsch won in 1994. In the men's 470, exceptional sailor and Kieler Woche record winner Wolfgang Hunger last sailed to his second consecutive World Championship victory with Rolf Schmidt in 1991. In the 470 mixed, the class history of mixed doubles will be continued.

Simon Diesch: "As a team, we prepared more intensively and meticulously for the World Championships than the other nations"

Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort (Württembergischer Yacht-Club/Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee) underlined the great performance of the 470 mixed crews in the German Sailing Team with fifth place. Simon Diesch said: "The signs were already positive before the World Championship. I think we prepared more intensively and meticulously for the World Championships as a team than any other nation. Luise and Philipp have thoroughly earned the World Championship title with their dominance this week."

With a view to the 2024 Olympics and the upcoming national elimination for just one Olympic starting place in the 470 Mixed, Diesch said: "It will certainly be an exciting, tough qualifier. But that's why we do competitive sport. Whoever comes out on top is likely to be a strong medal candidate for the Games." Malte and Anastasiya Winkel (Schweriner Yacht-Club/Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) are among these candidates. The sailing couple achieved sixth place at the World Championships with second place in the medal final. With three crews among the top six World Championship teams, the German Sailing Team looks more than well equipped for the 2024 Olympics.

Nadine Stegenwalner: "What Luise and Philipp have achieved is amazing"

DSV Sports Director Nadine Stegenwalner said: "It's amazing what Luise and Philipp have achieved! We congratulate them very, very warmly. We have world champions, three boats in the medal race, a total of four in the top 15. The outstanding overall performance shows how well they have worked. This applies to the overall package of sailors, coaches, clubs and all supporters." The German Sailing Team also won the World Championship nations ranking.