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50 years after the 1972 Olympic regatta off KielYouth summit and Olympic revival off Kiel

Tatjana Pokorny

 · 28.02.2022

50 years after the 1972 Olympic regatta off Kiel: Youth summit and Olympic revival off KielPhoto: KN-Archiv
29 crews competed in the Flying Dutchman (FD) at the 1972 Olympic Games. Behind Great Britain and France, Ullrich Libor and Peter Naumann won bronze for Germany
Sailing bridge from the past to the future: twelve German junior classes and the six Olympic classes from 1972 will meet off Kiel in August

The 50th anniversary year of the 1972 Olympic sailing regatta in Kiel is already in sight. Half a century ago, Olympic medals were sailed for in the north of Germany from 26 August to 11 September. Germany's sailing capital wants to celebrate this in style this year. After Kiel Week from 10 to 12 August, the next generation will be challenged in twelve disciplines at the Joint International German Youth Championship (GIDJ), before the revival races for six Olympic classes from 1972 bring back images of the past from 17 August. There will be an "Olympic" reunion with the Dragon, Star, FD, Tempest, Finn and Soling classes.

Recently attracted a lot of attention for the youth classes at Kiel Week 2021 with their rousing victory in the 29er: brothers Anton and Johann SachPhoto: LH Kiel/Sascha Klahn Recently attracted a lot of attention for the youth classes at Kiel Week 2021 with their rousing victory in the 29er: brothers Anton and Johann Sach A snapshot of the opening ceremony for the 1972 Olympic sailing regatta and the first march of the nations. Representing the Federal Republic of Germany (from right): Ulli Libor, Franz Heilmeier, behind them Willi Kuhweide. Eckhard Wagner can be seen in the second row in the centre, behind him national coach Albin MolnárPhoto: Magnussen, Friedrich (1914-1987), Gesellschaft für Kieler Stadtgeschichte, aus dem Stadtarchiv Kiel A snapshot of the opening ceremony for the 1972 Olympic sailing regatta and the first march of the nations. Representing the Federal Republic of Germany (from right): Ulli Libor, Franz Heilmeier, behind them Willi Kuhweide. Eckhard Wagner can be seen in the second row in the centre, behind him national coach Albin Molnár

"Our aim is to connect the past with the future," says organisation manager Dirk Ramhost, explaining the link between the Youth Summit and paying homage to the former Olympic classes. The former Olympic classes, most of which continue to enjoy great popularity even decades after losing their Olympic status, have further enhanced the value of the Kiel summit itself. The Tempest class has awarded its World Championship to Kiel, the Finns will hold their European Championship and their Junior European Championship (U-23) on the fjord the year after their last Olympic appearance in Japan in 2021 and the Starlings their Northern European Championship. The Flying Dutchman class has turned the revival into the German Championship. For the Dragons, it will be an extraordinary ranking regatta, with 35 or more entries even a Dragon Grand Prix. Click here for the Homepage of the Olympic Revival Regatta (please click!). And here is an amateur film that was made with Original footage of the Olympic regatta (please click!) from 1972 and published by the "Kieler Nachrichten" seven years ago as part of Hamburg and Kiel's bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games.

The opening ceremony of the 1972 Kiel Olympic RegattaPhoto: Gasch, Georg/Archiv Stadt Kiel The opening ceremony of the 1972 Kiel Olympic Regatta

The German defending champions Markus Wieser and Thomas Auracher are also taking part in the high-class Tempest World Championship field. The Bavarian duo have been sailing together successfully in small and large boats for two decades and are among the top favourites for the world title in Kiel. The registration portal for the Olympic Revival is not yet open, but the one for the GIDJ is. More than 300 entries have already been received for the twelve disciplines at this early stage.

The world champions in the Tempest: Here, helmsman Markus Wieser and his cox Thomas Auracher won the 2019 World Championship trophy on Lake TegernseePhoto: Tatjana Pokorny The world champions in the Tempest: Here, helmsman Markus Wieser and his cox Thomas Auracher won the 2019 World Championship trophy on Lake Tegernsee
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Tatjana Pokorny

Tatjana Pokorny

Sports reporter

Tatjana “tati” Pokorny is the author of nine books. As a reporter for Europe's leading sailing magazine YACHT, she also works as a correspondent for the German Press Agency (DPA), the Hamburger Abendblatt and other national and international media. In summer 2024, Tatjana will be reporting from Marseille on her ninth consecutive Olympic Games. Other core topics have been the America's Cup since 1992, the Ocean Race since 1993, the Vendée Globe and other national and international regattas and their protagonists. Favorite discipline: Portraits of and interviews with sailing personalities. When she started out in sports journalism, she was still intensively involved with basketball and other sports, but sailing quickly became her main focus. The reason? The declared optimist says: “There is no other sport like it, no other sport with such interesting and intelligent personalities, no other sport so diverse, no other sport so full of energy, strength and ideas. Sailing is like a constantly refreshing declaration of love for life."

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