With two medals and five top ten placings, the German team was more successful at the Youth Sailing World Championships than it has been for a long time. The youngsters secured fifth place in the nations ranking, which was won by Spain.
The Youth World Championship organised by World Sailing is considered the most important international competition for sailors under the age of 19. Often referred to as a kind of Youth Olympics, the nations only provide one team or one athlete per class. This year, a total of 431 participants from 67 different countries from all over the world took part.
The 420 sailors Amelie Wehrle and Amelie Rinn put on a brilliant performance off The Hague. "They have earned a lot of respect from the other sailors here!" reported their coach Silke Basedow proudly. The young team from southern Germany led the 420 women's field until the penultimate day of racing and were not fazed by a black flag disqualification. On the last day, they sailed to second place behind the Spanish team in an extremely exciting and hard-fought final.
Irish double victory in Ilca 6
Ole Schweckendiek from Kiel had travelled to The Hague as the newly crowned European champion and took this positive energy with him into the races. Here, too, it was exciting right to the end in difficult conditions. Before the last race, almost anything was still possible among the top five. In the end, he took bronze and the next big success for Kiel. The world champion was Rocco Wright from Ireland ahead of last year's winner Sebastian Kempe from Bermuda.
In the girls' Ilca 6 (formerly Laser Radial), it was Ireland's Eve McMahon who, after winning the European title, also took the crown at the World Championships by a clear margin. She came first in seven races with four first places against the Australian sailor Evie Saunders and Roos Wind from the Netherlands.
Amaya Escudero, on the other hand, was unable to fulfil her clear title dream in the women's Ilca 6. The newcomer to Kiel, who had only moved from Atlanta to Strande in May, did not get going as she had hoped on the light windy first days of the regatta. In a strong final spurt, however, she improved to a pleasing seventh place.
Jule Ernst and Louisa Schmidt had been on course for bronze in the women's 29er before the final day, but were not quite able to maintain their position in the final races and finished fourth. The brothers Anton and Johann Sach were among the youngest teams in the men's 29er. The reigning German champions attracted attention with very good individual placings and finished seventh overall.
"The best team result for more than twelve years"
The conditions off The Hague demanded maximum concentration. "We had up to 50 metres of current per minute here, which is a lot," reported Silke Basedow. Caution was required, especially at the start and at the buoys, so as not to cross the line too early or get caught up in a crowd.
Alongside the coaching team, national centre manager Hendrik Ismar was also delighted with the German team's good performance: "With almost exclusively top ten placings, we have a very cohesive, good team result. The German team is in fifth place in the national rankings, the best result for more than twelve years."
