Sunday’s highlights
- 470 class: Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort are leading after three races, with five DSV crews in the top six.
- ILCA 7: Ole Schweckendiek is second overall after winning today’s stage, whilst Philipp Buhl is in eleventh place.
- ILCA 6: Julia Büsselberg bounced back from a false start disqualification with a stage win and fifth place.
- 49er: Several German favourites will still have to battle it out for a place in the gold fleet on Monday.
- 49erFX: Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille narrowly made it into the gold fleet, finishing 17th.
- Offshore sailing: “Sons of Hurricanes” lose the lead following a disqualification; “Exciter” moves up to second place.
German 470 crews dominate Sunday’s racing
The Kiel Week is according to A slow start got off to a flying start. In the mixed 470 class, the German team took the lead early on. Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort finished second, first and third in the first three races and thus lead the provisional standings. Behind them, Malte Winkel and Bente Batzing are in second place after winning the opening race. Hedvig and Hugo Liljegren from Sweden follow in third place.
The depth of the German fleet is particularly striking: five 470 crews from the German Sailing Association are among the top six teams. For their domestic rivals, this is an early indication of just how close the battle for the German Olympic spot for Los Angeles is likely to be.
Schweckendiek makes the most of the light wind; Buhl has to go on the attack
There were also German highlights in the ILCA 7 on Sunday. Due to aggressive behaviour at the start, the first race began around an hour and a half late, meaning that only two races could be held in both groups. Alexandre Kowalski from Brest is currently leading the standings, with Ole Schweckendiek from Kiel three points behind after finishing eighth and first respectively.
With his victory in the second race of the day, Schweckendiek moved right up behind the French leader. Philipp Buhl, a three-time Olympian and newly crowned European runner-up, is in eleventh place after finishing eighth and ninth, and will have to go on the attack on Monday in similar conditions.
In the ILCA 6 class, Julia Büsselberg bounced back strongly from a difficult start. A disqualification for a false start initially set the Berlin-based sailor back, but she then fought back with a race win to move up to fifth place overall. Leading the field are Anna Munch from Aarhus and Helena Wolff from Hellerup.
49er favourites under pressure ahead of the Gold Fleet cut
The situation in the 49er class is considerably more tense. After four races, Simon Heindl and Conrad Jacobs are the only German crew to have made it into the top 20, sitting in 16th place. The cut-off for the Gold Fleet will not take place until Monday, following two further qualifying races, so the pressure remains high.
Jakob Meggendorfer and Andreas Spranger, who were among the favourites having finished fourth in the World Championships, are currently only 26th despite a win in last Sunday’s race. Meggendorfer said: “Well then, we can still ‘make it through to the next round’ after all, even though we made a few minor mistakes today.” In the end, he said, the decisive factor was that the start and the pace had finally come together.
Per and Frederik Schwall also had a mixed day. After a six-week break due to a viral infection, Per Schwall and his brother found their way back into the rhythm of competition and also sailed to a race win. By the evening, however, the Kiel pair were still only in 21st place. Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger follow in 22nd place, also with a race win. Nevin Snow and Ian Macdiarmid from the USA lead on equal points ahead of Hernán Umpierre and Fernando Diz from Uruguay, as well as Joshua Richner and Nilo Schärer from Switzerland.
49erFX secure points, offshore sailors experience a protest turnaround
In the women’s 49erFX class, there was also room for improvement from a German perspective. Jule Ernst and Lea Adolph were the top German crew, finishing seventh, just ahead of Maru Scheel and Freya Feilcke. Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille, who finished sixth at the Olympics, scraped through to 17th place, two points clear, to secure a place in the Gold Fleet of the top 20 teams. Helen Pais and Helen Ausman from Estonia are in the lead, ahead of Freya Black and Saskia Tidey from Great Britain.
Also in the Offshore sailing at Kiel Week The situation changed on Sunday. At the International German Inshore Championship, Jon Sverre Hoiden on ‘Sons of Hurricanes’ initially took the lead from Erik Stannow on ‘Dixi 5’ following the return of the Aalregatta from Eckernförde. The race was sailed for the first time using a kangaroo start, in which the yachts set off at staggered intervals according to their handicap.
However, they did not hold onto the lead. Following a protest by the technical committee, the crew of the “Sons of Hurricanes” were called to the weigh-in and were disqualified for being overweight. With a win on the day, Jens Kuphal moved up to second place behind Stannow aboard the “Exciter”. In the ORC A/B class of the Aalregatta, ‘Xenia’, skippered by Ralf Lässig, won ahead of ‘Faju’, skippered by Ulrich Müller-Kauter, and ‘Löwe von Bremen’, skippered by Carolin Bosselmann.
Following the Kiel Week gets underway On Monday, all eyes will be on two questions in particular: can the German 49er teams still make it into the Gold Fleet, and will the 470 crews confirm their strong early form? The third day of sailing at Kiel Week 2026 is thus set to be a thrilling one: the 470s are shining at the front, whilst there is plenty of pressure further back off Schilksee.
What will be important on Monday
- The Gold Fleet cut-off in the 49er class comes after two further qualifying races.
- Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort head into the next day as the leaders in the 470 class.
- Ole Schweckendiek will start second in the ILCA 7 class, behind Alexandre Kowalski.
- Having finished eleventh, Philipp Buhl must now try to catch up with the leaders.
- In offshore sailing, the standings remain a particular focus following the disqualification of “Sons of Hurricanes”.
What do you think of the Kieler Woche Sunday? Let us know in the comments.
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
