He shouted. Struggled and struggled with himself. Almost gave up and then pushed himself on again. To finally plough furiously through the field. If Olympic gold was awarded for successful catch-up races, then Philipp Buhl would probably have the best prospects since he turned 28th place into 13th in the sixth Olympic race. "That may not look great in the results, but it was almost sensational in terms of sailing," attested coach Thomas Piesker. But it doesn't help: 13th place after six of ten races up to the medal final on 15 August is not what the world number one had in mind for his Olympic premiere at this point in the intermediate classification. "I'm completely disappointed with the day," said Buhl on Wednesday evening, "my conditions and everything were actually so clear. One small mistake added up to the next. But nobody can fool me here when it comes to speed..."
A minor collision with a Mexican makes it clear that it's not just mistakes, but also a bit of bad luck that sticks to Buhl's Laser hull like a sticker in the little-loved territory of Guanabara Bay. The man from Sonthofen knew that the Mexican would come through behind him. But the wave on which the competitor was travelling broke off and the boats suddenly touched. To be on the safe side, Buhl voluntarily completed the expensive curl.
The moody Guanabara Bay, with its unpredictable winds and currents, did not suit the national sailing team's leader from the outset. "Rio and I, it's not love at first sight," Buhl had already said after the 2015 Olympic test regatta, in which he came ninth. One year later, history seems to be repeating itself. But the Sonthofen sports soldier from the Alpsee-Immenstadt sailing club has not yet given up. "My mum told me to fight until the last second. That's what I'm going to do now."
However, 29 points behind third place is a very high hurdle even for a "happy hunter". But coach Piesker is encouraging: "The spark is still smouldering. Although we haven't managed to make the breakthrough yet, the leaders are all shaky. If we now manage - as Philipp is capable of doing at any time - to put together a series of top-five finishes, then anything is possible. It's not over yet." The Laser regatta continues on Friday and Saturday with races seven to ten. The medal final will take place on 15 August.
While Buhl struggled with himself and the Guanabara Bay, the German 470 crews and the Kiel Nacra 17 catamaran team Paul Kohlhoff and Carolina Werner also started the Olympic regatta in their disciplines. The result initially remained as grey as the sky over the Marina da Glória on Wednesday. Kohlhoff/Werner are in 16th place after the first two races despite two strong starts. In what many sailors described as "completely crazy sailing conditions", in which the most bizarre "parking and racing scenes" took place, the young team from the Kieler Yacht-Club came 14th and 11th. "We made the best of the conditions," commented Carolina Werner on the start. The 470 sailors Annika Bochmann and Marlene Steinherr from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club are in 16th place after two races, while the European champions Ferdinand Gerz and Oliver Szymanski are in 17th place for the time being.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
