132nd Kiel Week: Eyes on the Olympics – National sailors set for a home race

On 20 June, the 132nd Kiel Week will take place in the city centre in the evening officially opened by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. But even during the day, the sails are being furled on the fjord. The world’s largest nine-day sailing series gets underway with the Aal Regatta for seagoing yachts, marking its first Olympic half-way point.

“Ideally suited to Olympic sailing competitions”

Four days before the event gets underway, the organisers presented their sailing programme at a press conference on Tuesday in “Sailing City”. Head of organisation Dirk Ramhorst said: “Kiel Week will once again prove that Kiel-Schilksee would also be ideally suited to hosting future Olympic sailing competitions.”

The background to this special feature on the Olympics is the national competition to select the German candidate for the bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036, 2040 or 2044. Following the withdrawal from Hamburg Munich, Cologne/Rhine-Ruhr and Berlin are still in the running.

The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) will decide on 26 September at an extraordinary general meeting which region Germany will put forward in its bid. Alongside Kiel, Rostock-Warnemünde is also bidding to be the sailing partner. In terms of the concentration of Olympic sailors, Kiel has the edge during its nine-day sailing week – the largest of its kind in the world.

Kieler Woche: six out of ten Olympic sailing disciplines taking part

Six of the ten Olympic sailing disciplines will be in action on the fjord during the first half of the competition, from 20 to 24 June. For the first time, they will conclude their series not with just one, but with two medal races each. The new format is designed to keep the excitement going right until the end. The national team’s top sailors are well represented at this home event.

Three-time Olympian and ILCA European silver medallist Philipp Buhl, the young ILCA star from Kiel, Ole Schweckendieck, the 470 world silver medallists Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort (WYC/VSaW/JSC) and the top skiff duos in the 49er and 49erFX classes are all in action. Among them are the 49er World Championship fourth-place finishers Jakob Meggendorfer and Andreas Spranger (BYC) and Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger (NRV/VSaW), who have made such a brilliant start to the new season. Also competing are the best FX sailors such as Maru Scheel and Freya Feilcke, who finished fifth at the World Championships in Kiel or Sophie Steinlein/Catherine Bartelheimer.

Following a feedback campaign last year, the organisers have optimised the quality of service for competitors – from the event announcement and communication channels right through to the running of the races on the water. In addition, the race formats have been adapted to the latest Olympic requirements set by World Sailing. Dirk Ramhorst announced: “We measure ourselves against the highest standards and aim to more than meet them.”

The eventing competition on the fjord

19 World and European Championship medallists in their respective boat classes have entered. Click here to the entry lists on manage2sail. The FD World Championships, which begin as early as Wednesday alongside the Olympic medal races, will feature the entire podium from last year. They are led by the defending champions, Kilian König and Johannes Brack from Hanover.

The anticipation felt by sailors, organisers and fans of the sailing events at Kiel Week – which has been close to their hearts right from the start – is bolstered by the medium-term weather forecast: A summer weekend is expected in northern Germany, with temperatures exceeding 20 degrees, which participants in the Aalregatta will also be able to enjoy at the start of the event. It remains to be seen how the wind will behave in response to the warm weather.

Kiel Week brings people together – the video about the festival on the fjord: