Olympic sailing: "We are more than on course"

Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel have defended their second place at the Olympic Games on the third day of the regatta. With another strong performance, the Berliners maintained their second place, surrounded by Olympic medallists and America's Cup stars: ahead of them are the top favourites, the 2012 world champions and Olympic silver medallists Peter Burling and Blair Tuke. The crew from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein are 18 points behind the New Zealanders. Lurking behind the Germans, 15 points behind the GER boat, are the Australians Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen - the 2012 Olympic champions. Everything points to a criminally exciting final phase in which the German national sailing team can hope.

"We are more than on course," said helmsman Erik Heil, "but we won't allow ourselves to play any medal games. We are focussing on ourselves and our races. Race by race. We want to achieve another average fifth place tomorrow and position ourselves well for the medal race." Foresailor Thomas Plößel reported on the three races on Monday. The crew changed the trim of the boat slightly after the first race, which did not go optimally with 15th place, and then turned it up again. "The important thing today was to be able to sail freely and have free wind, plus speed. We had that in the last two races. It certainly won't be easy tomorrow, but we're staying focussed."

At the same time, 49erFX sailors Victoria Jurczok and Anika Lorenz will have to fight for a place in the final of the best skiff teams after a mediocre day of racing. The Berliners from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club are in eleventh place overall ahead of the last three races on Tuesday and the medal race on Thursday. "We still have three races left to save the series," said helmswoman Jurczok, adding with a wink: "Otherwise we'll have to sleep under the bridge." However, the women remained combative. Anika Lorenz said: "Then we'll just have to knock out three tomorrow and then it'll be our turn again."

While sailing conditions were good for the skiffs, the races for the 470 women and men could not be started. The eagerly awaited medal races for the Laser and Laser Radial classes also had to be postponed until Tuesday. First a lull paralysed the action, then at the end of the day stormy gusts of 30 knots and more peppered the skiffs heading for the harbour, the 470s waiting outside and also the Laser Radial sailors on the medal course near the beach. There were many capsizes. Thomas Plößel reported that Erik Heil and he had both brought the boat home sitting on the very edge of their 49er. The 470 sailors Annika Bochmann and Marlene Steinherr, who were annoyed with their entire fleet at the short-sightedness of the 470 race organisers, who had required the sailors to wait a long time on the course, came into the harbour with their mainsail completely shredded. And this despite the fact that not a single race could be held. "But the front had been announced," commented Steinherr.