His goal is to finish in the top 25, but now Phillip Kasüske from Berlin is suddenly in second place after three races at the Finn Gold Cup in the Italian world championship area off Gaeta. Behind him are high-flyers such as the British world champion, America's Cup tactician and Olympic favourite Giles Scott and the Olympic silver medal winner Jonas Hogh-Christensen. The helmsman from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club is coping very well in the light winds that have prevailed so far, saying: "I could have finished in the top 5 in any of the races so far. My speed is very good in the light winds." So good, in fact, that Kasüske won a race in a major Finn dinghy regatta for the first time in his career on Monday.
Phillip Kasüske wins his first race in a major Finn regatta. The helmsman from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club enjoys the light winds and is in second place after three races.
Kasüske enjoyed the good start to the world championship in the class in which Willy Kuhweide once sailed into the sporting history books with his Finn dinghy "Darling" and Olympic gold. "To be second in the classification is just great, but it's only the beginning. Now we'll see what the next few days bring. I'm really happy that I can show what I'm capable of. Hopefully that will motivate me for the years to come."
The 21-year-old offshore plant engineering student is a member of an ambitious training group of young Finn sailors in the Audi Sailing Team Germany under the direction of Danish coach Per Baggøe. He says: "We've had some very good training sessions this year, often in light winds. We're a really great team, four young men who always want more and are taking us further." Kasüsche's strong performance comes too late to qualify for the Olympic Games. However, the group had set its sights on the 2020 Olympic Games right from the start. In addition to Kasüske, the German Finn team also includes Paul Kohlhoff's brother Max Kohlhoff as well as Eike Martens and Lennart Luttkus.
The Finn Gold Cup 2016 ends on 13 May with the final and the award ceremony.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
