There hasn't been this much disruption for a long time. This Kiel Week will go down as one of the stormiest in history. But the German sailors seem to thrive on the survival conditions. Especially the women. They took four of the five medal places.
The Ynglings led the way. Berliners Ulrike Schümann, Wibke Bülle and Winnie Lippert took gold ahead of their rivals from Bavaria Kristin Wagner, Anna Hoell and Veronika Lochbrunner. Both crews impressively distanced themselves from the strong international field. Only the European champion Nadine Stegenwalner disappointed. Without her regular crew, she only managed twelfth place.
The 470 women's team of Stefanie Rothweiler and Monika Leu also put in a very strong performance. The crew from Lake Constance (WYC) achieved one of their greatest successes with second place behind the Australian Olympic champions Armstrong/Stowell. The fifth place of Trübel/Kussatz (NRV) was also very good.
The two other medals were won by the old masters. The Olympic starter in the Europe Petra Niemann can already be described as such. She confirmed her good season's performance in third place in a field of almost 150 boats. The Berliner (VSaW) achieved four victories on the day. The winner was Carolyn Brouwer from the Netherlands, who sailed in the Volvo Ocean Race on the "Amer Sports Too".
Finn veteran Michael Fellman was tailor-made for the strong wind conditions and even beat the Belgian Olympic silver medallist Sebastian Godefroid in second place. Only Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL), gold medallist in Savannah, was better.
The other classes also gave cause for hope for Athens 2004, with the Berlin 470 sailors Lucas Zellmer and Felix Krabbe (SpYC) confirming that they are among the world's best with their sixth place.
There, Laser sailor Philipp Buchert (VSaW) returned with a sensational seventh place. Was this the end of the long dry spell in this class? In any case, his colleagues Schlonski and Hannemann confirmed the positive impression of the young German team with 14th and 15th place. At the top, Briton Paul Goodison seamlessly continued the success of his compatriot and gold medallist Ben Ainslie.
The entry of Volvo Ocean Race winner Toni Kolb on board Marc Pickel's Star boat attracted a lot of attention. Tenth place gave the pair cause for optimism. Only the former A squad sailors Reinhard Schmidt and Jochen Wolfram (SKBUe) were better of the German team in fifth place. The American gold medallists Reynolds/Liljedahl had the field under control as usual.
The newly formed Tornado team of Andrew Landenberger and Johannes Polgar also got off to a very good start. Although the Tornados only managed three races due to strong winds, their sixth place gives plenty of cause for optimism. The Sach brothers finished 15th and the Olympic champions Hagara/Steinacher (AUT) are still the leaders in this class.
The 49er field lacked quality because the best crews were still travelling back from the World Championships in Miami. Nevertheless, the sixth place of Contender World Champion Gabriel Wicke with Wolf Jenschonnek (HYC) is extremely noteworthy. They finished just ahead of Markus Steeg and Moritz Deml, who were one of the few World Championship participants in Kiel. After a good 16th place in Miami, they managed two day wins and seventh place in Kiel.
Only the surfers disappointed. In the Mistral men's event, Olympic starter Alexander Baronjan only came 14th behind Sebastian Guter (12th). Amelie Lux's eleventh place in the Mistral women's event, on the other hand, can be viewed rather positively. On her comeback after a long period of suffering from mononucleosis, she at least managed a stage win and a second place. Romy Kinzl finished eighth.
Kiel's Heiko Kröger won the premiere of the Paralympic class 2.4 with his usual confidence. With seven wins and a third place, he had the 20 boats safely under control.
