"Pussy Galore" is known as the pilot from the Bond film "Goldfinger". In the film, the blonde is a trapeze artist and boss of an all-female gang of gangsters ("Abrocats"), who take Bond's side in the course of the film. In Olympic sailing, the new 49er from Justus Schmidt and Max Boehme is called "Pussy Galore". Its predecessor was "Honey Rider". The Bond Girls have taken a shine to the Kiel 49er crew. Now they are to help in the fight for the Olympic ticket to Rio de Janeiro.
At the classic regatta Trofeo Princesa Sofía off Palma de Mallorca, the Olympic tickets in the skiff disciplines will be at stake from Easter Monday. Both the men's and women's races are duels that will be decided after the medal race on 2 April at the latest. In the 49er, Justus Schmidt and Max Boehme will be chasing their friends and team-mates Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel and their two-year-old 49er named "Gyde", named after the wife of NRV commodore, NRV Olympic team sponsor and Federal Cross of Merit winner Gunter Persiehl, in their new McKay 49er named "Pussy Galore" and four points behind. Heil/Plößel, the 2014 European champions, start the pre-Olympic showdown with 29 points in their elimination account. Schmidt/Boehme have collected 25 points so far for their European Championship victory.
"If the conditions are good and we don't develop any psychological problems, things should go well for us," says Erik Heil before the start of the regatta. The Berliners, who compete for the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein and are its last Olympic hopefuls for the Rio regatta, are confident going into the decision. "Although we also have our new boat here in Palma, we are relying on the old one and its World Championship set-up. Both German teams have the ambition to win their ticket in a possibly tough but fair competition. "We want a clean qualification," says Justus Schmidt, "four points behind is not a small gap, but we have a realistic chance of getting the ticket if we put together a super good regatta and hardly make any mistakes."
The two German men's teams are part of an intensive joint training group with the Danish Olympic champion Jonas Warrer and his co-skipper Anders Thomsen. The three of them have established themselves among the world's best. However, only one of the two German crews can start in Rio. "May it be the better crew," is not only Justus Schmidt's wish. The two friendly German teams have promised to support the other crew as sparring partners in the event of their own defeat until the Olympic Games in their joint fight for an Olympic medal. Both hope that their successful training community will survive the showdown unscathed and remain what it has been so far, not only according to Erik Heil: "The most loyal training group in the world".
At the same time as the 49er sailors, the 49erFX women's race off Palma de Mallorca will also be decided in the battle for just one ticket to Rio. Berlin's Victoria Jurczok and Anika Lorenz have a 20-point lead ahead of the third and final elimination regatta to realise their dream of taking part in the Olympics. Only Tina Lutz (Chiemasee Yacht Club) and Susann Beucke (Hannoverscher Yacht-Club) can jeopardise them on course for Rio. To do so, however, "Lutz/Beucke would have to sail into the top two (25 points for first place, 22 points for second place, 20 points for third place) and Jurczok/Lorenz would have to make massive mistakes at the same time. In the event of a tie - for example, if Lutz/Beucke finish third before Palma and Jurczok/Lorenz do not sail into the top 20 - Jurzcok/Lorenz would also have the lead because they had the highest number of points at one of the three qualifying regattas with 25 points for third place. The decision will also be made for the women on 2 April at the latest with the final medal race at the eagerly awaited Trofeo Princesa Sofía, which many other nations also use for their Olympic qualifiers.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
