Olympic sailing: Victorious in the second Olympic campaign with "Matilda"

The competition was not yet that strong and the season has only just begun: Nevertheless, Vicky Jurczok and Anika Lorenz from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club have made their determination clear with their victory in the Spanish regatta classic Trofeo Princesa Sofía: the second Olympic campaign has begun and the start is impressive. With eight victories in 17 races, the Berliners showed the competition all their skills, demonstrating their routine especially on the last day, when the wind increased to 25 knots and more in the second of three planned final races, so that eight out of ten boats did not even reach the finish line due to capsizing in a row. Only the German frontrunners with their 49erFX "Matilda" and an Italian crew made it through. The third final race even had to be cancelled due to strong winds.

In the final standings, Jurczok/Lorenz had 47 points in their account, 49 (!) points ahead of the second-placed Norwegians. "Many well-known teams were still missing at this regatta, but we still did a good job," said motivated helmswoman Vicky Jurczok. The team completed a training camp off Mallorca with new British coach Dave Evans and the German 49erFX team after the winter break. "The longer break was good for us. The training was very effective. We feel fresh," said Jurczok. This year, the VSaW crew is focussing on a lot of training at the Olympic training centre in Kiel. We can work effectively there, tackle our weight problem(Editor: The team is chronically struggling with a slight "underweight", but nevertheless proved its class on the final day in strong winds) get to grips with it, use the gym and generally have more time than when travelling." A double regatta challenge awaits in June and July in the home waters: Kiel Week will be followed by the European Championships for the Olympic classes 49erFX, 49er and Nacra 17 with promising German participation in all three disciplines.

Jan Hauke Erichsen and Ann-Kristin Wedemeyer tested their capabilities as a newly formed Nacra 17 crew off Mallorca. The crew from Flensburger Segel-Club sailed a regatta together for the first time and left a positive impression with some good individual results. The mixed team will decide on a joint future in the near future. It remains to be seen when and in which separate formations the Olympic 13th Paul Kohlhoff and Carolina Werner will return to the Nacra 17 catamaran class.

The 49er sailors Tim Fischer and Fabian Graf (NRV/VSaW) made an excellent impression in Spanish climes. The 22-year-old helmsman and his 21-year-old coxswain sailed to a remarkable seventh place off Palma de Mallorca with ten top ten finishes and a win on the day, while the 470 crews in the men's and women's races narrowly missed out on the medal races in eleventh place. After a rollercoaster ride through the results list, runner-up Philipp Buhl in the Laser narrowly qualified for the medal race in tenth place, in which he worked his way up to ninth place with fifth place and ended the regatta on a positive note: "I fought my way back in a regatta with predominantly very light winds. That was good. If I deduct the early start, fifth place would have been possible. All in all, the result is promising - also in view of the strong individual results of Theo and Nik and thus for our training group." All winners and all results here.