The most important competition in Philipp Buhl's sailing career to date starts in a fortnight' time. The Laser vice world champion will be competing for a medal in Rio de Janeiro. The man from Sonthofen explained in detail on Aktuelle Sportstudio that it won't be a walk in the park: the most challenging sailing conditions in Guanabara Bay, currents that are difficult to read, environmental problems, water quality that is hazardous to health and - depending on the current - a lot of flotsam in the water are among the hurdles that all Olympic sailors have to overcome.
Buhl's realistic assessment before the start of the Olympic regatta on 8 August, in which he himself will be the first German sailor alongside RS-X surfer Toni Wilhelm: "If everything comes together, I can win. But I could just as easily finish eighth or ninth."
The German national sailing team is competing for medals in seven of the ten Olympic sailing disciplines. Seven men and five women are in action under sail off Rio de Janeiro. Four years ago, the DSV fleet had to return home from the Olympic sailing regatta in British waters off Weymouth without any medals. At the last three Olympic Games, the brothers Jan-Peter and Hannes Peckolt have only won bronze once, taking bronze off Qingdao in 2008. Audi Sailing Team Germany will be competing in Brazil with several hopefuls to put an end to the medal drought.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
