Olympic sailing: Comeback coup: Polgar and Werner start Olympic campaign

Nine years ago, Johannes Polgar and Florian Spalteholz missed out on a medal in the Tornado in the Olympic final in Qingdao. Back then, they were sailing towards bronze in the medal race in the Chinese seaweed area before a collision with a piece of driftwood caused the German catamaran to spin out of control. "We capsized with a broken rudder and swam behind our boat instead of winning a medal. That was incredibly brutal and sad," recalls Johannes Polgar. Incidentally, the bronze medal that was missed was won by Argentinian Santi Lange, who would become world-famous in 2016...

Polgar continued his Olympic career in the Star boat after 2008 because the Tornado had been removed from the programme for 2012. He became European champion with Markus Koy, but was defeated in the national Olympic qualifiers by Robert Stanjek and Fridtjof Kleen, who later finished sixth at the Olympics. After 2012, the Star boat was also removed from the Olympic programme. Polgar ended his Olympic career and focussed on his duties at the Audi automotive group, where he is now sports marketing coordinator, married Olympic sailor Kathrin Kadelbach and remained loyal to sailing in other fields such as the German Sailing League and the Star Sailors League. The Olympic chapter seemed to be closed.

But then came the Olympic resurrection of catamaran sailing! Polgar witnessed the premiere of the mixed teams on the Nacra17 projectiles in Rio de Janeiro as an increasingly enthusiastic observer. He also followed Paul Kohlhoff and Carolina Werner from Kiel in the Nacra17 event. Santi Lange won the spectacular Nacra 2016 Olympic final alongside Ceci Carranza-Saroli. At 54, Lange was not only the oldest Olympic sailor in Rio. His success story also went around the world because he had to have a lung removed before the Games as a result of cancer. His victory - despite two penalties in the final (!) - moved people around the world. And Polgar. It was Lange who inspired the German to start thinking about his comeback and asked him why he wasn't getting back into the game. "I'll never forget those days in Rio," says Polgar, "my Olympic fire was burning brightly again afterwards."

The Kohlhoff/Werner team, known in Germany as the "German Wonder Kids" after their first international successes, split up after the 2016 Olympic Games, but it was clear to both of them that they wanted to compete in another Olympic campaign with new sailing partners. In autumn 2016, Caro Werner approached Johannes Polgar for the first time about the possibility of a joint campaign. He was impressed by this active step. A day of sailing together was promising, but the hurdles for a comeback seemed high at first.

During this time, the Nacra17 was modernised once again for the next Olympic Games. The fast catamaran is currently the talk of the town as a full-foiler in the style of the large America's Cup yachts at its regatta world premiere as part of the European Championship off Kiel.

Polgar, who competes for the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein and the NRV Olympic Team, describes his decision-making process at the start of the year: "I first cancelled Caro, but then thought again that I only get a chance like this once. With the foiling Nacras, everyone starts more or less from scratch. It was a tough battle to get everything up and running logistically and organisationally, but now, with the support of my fantastic wife Kathrin, our families, a good job constellation thanks to my modern-thinking employer Audi and a strong team around me, things are really taking off." Polgar will not be giving up his job ("I love it!"). But he will switch from the intensive operational role with lots of travelling to a more strategic level.

The new Nacra17 of the Polgar/Werner duo arrived in Germany last Wednesday and is currently being dismantled and optimised at Marc Pickel's shipyard and the foils are being levelled. The work should be completed by the end of this week. This weekend, Polgar and 23-year-old Carolina Werner will take the new cat out on the water for the first time in Strander Bucht. While Polgar has also worked his way back to high performance level physically in recent months and feels "physically in top shape", the dynamic Caro Werner has bridged the Nacra17 break with stints on the Swedish TP52 "Rán" in the 52 Super Series and other engagements at professional level. She is also eagerly awaiting the restart.

The foresailor, who competes for the Schleswig-Holstein Sailing Association, says of her new helmsman: "When I sailed with Jojo for the first time, a lot of things worked well straight away. He has a lot of experience and is also a good fit on a personal level." Polgar says of Werner: "For me, it was an important sign that the initiative came from Caro. She has the same fire as I do, acts like a machine on board, is in top form and knows no fear."

Together, Polgar and Werner are looking forward to working with the other German teams ("It's great that the German Sailing Team now combines teams and expertise"), but also want to continue their international training. "If you want an Olympic medal, you have to compete with the best," says Polgar, referring to planned training sessions, for example with the crews of Olympic champion Santi Lange and Spaniard Fernando Echávarri. Is the goal an Olympic medal? "No question!" says Polgar, "for me it's still 'unfinished business'." In addition to Polgar/Werner, Jan Hauke Erichsen/Ann-Kathrin Wedemeyer from Flensburg and Paul Kohlhoff are also working towards an Olympic medal after completing the Youth America's Cup and another crew change in a new constellation with Alicia Stuhlemmer.