A tough draw for Team Germany at the SSL Gold Cup off Gran Canaria: the German team, already seeded for the quarter-finals, narrowly missed out on a place in the semi-finals on Thursday. At the finish of the last and double scored race, they were only a few boat lengths behind the Dutch. They came in third ahead of the Germans and secured their second semi-final ticket after the dominant Hungarians.
A nine-second deficit decided between a place in the semi-finals and the last place in the group
Particularly bitter: the decisive race had already been cancelled once before. Helmsman Paul Kohlhoff and the crew had been in a commanding lead in stronger winds when the race committee cancelled the race in winds that were too strong. In the second attempt, the German team then had to contend with a series of problems. Although they were not alone in this, they paid the highest price with fourth place at the finish after a strange course of the race.
Nine seconds behind Team Holland meant that the German team did not reach the semi-final, which was already within their grasp, but only fourth and last place in the quarter-final group ranking behind Hungary, Holland and Chile.
We have grown together as a team and have learnt a lot from this experience." Tim Kröger
"The chances were there, but it didn't go in our team's favour today. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. On the other hand, the team were impressively fast. Paul steered well in conjunction with the trimmers. Overall, the team completed a good learning curve, which we would have liked to have continued. We have grown together as a team and have learnt a lot from this experience," said coach Tim Kröger after the dramatic race.
Whether things would have gone differently with the originally planned helmsman, tactician and team co-founder Markus Wieser remains a theoretical question. The only experienced Bavarian big-boat professional apart from Eberhard Magg on these boats had to cancel his participation one day before departure due to illness.
SSL Gold Cup: athletes from many disciplines and two generations in one boat
Olympic bronze medallist Paul Kohlhoff, who usually sails on fast Nacra 17 twin-hull foilers, took over the helm at short notice and was able to adapt quickly. Star boat world champion and brother Max Kohlhoff took on tactical duties and also supported team captain Frithjof Kleen in the "powerhouse" at the mast.
The mainsail trimmer was Magnus Simon, who has a wealth of experience. The 49er aces Thomas Plößel and Linov Scheel were the other trimmers. Match race expert Eberhard Magg from Lake Constance acted as a calming influence in the pit. Nick Beulke was on duty as foreship man.
What remains for the German team after the unfortunate elimination is the strong group dynamic and team spirit that has developed between young Olympians and experienced keelboat sailors this week in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and on board the golden SSL 47 boats. "Everyone has looked and worked beyond their horizons. That's what makes this new SSL Gold Cup so special as a national competition: the cross-disciplinary challenge that brings together top people from all areas and several generations," said Tim Kröger.
We've made good progress and that's exactly why we would have loved to play in the semi-finals." Paul Kohlhoff
Shortly after the decisive race and the narrow defeat, helmsman Paul Kohlhoff was initially "extremely disappointed". With a little distance, however, the 28-year-old from Kiel, who is on course for his third Olympic participation next year, took a very positive view: "That was an incredibly good regatta, which I would love to take part in again in the future. There was a great spirit in the team. We made good progress and would have loved to show that in the semi-finals."
Team captain Frithjof Kleen said: "In the end, we just lacked a bit of routine. We were in the lead in the first attempt of this final and decisive race and also got off to a good start in the second attempt. We were even back in the game after the penalty." Team Germany had conceded a penalty at the first windward mark because the bowsprit came out too early. "After that, however, we deviated from our line a little, perhaps taking a little too much risk," explained Kleen.
SSL Gold Cup: The final takes place on Sunday
An unfortunate jibe, which caused the kite halyard to open up, cost Team Germany the chance they had previously had to overtake the Dutch, who were also having problems, at the last turning mark. On the last downwind leg, Team Germany was unable to catch the Dutch, even in "battle mode".
The quarter-finals of the other groups continued on Thursday off Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The semi-finals will take place on Saturday from 12 noon. Each of the two semi-final groups of four will only hold one race. The two best teams will qualify for the final, which will be held on Sunday at 1pm. All races will be live here transferred.
Video of Team Germany's thrilling quarter-final showdown - without a happy ending, but highly exciting:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
