Jan Hauke Erichsen and Lea Spitzmann are the German surprise team at the World Cup off Hyères, which marks the third and final regatta of the national Olympic qualifiers for the German Nacra 17 crews. The Flensburg duo is surprisingly sailing on course for the Olympics at the halfway point in France. On Thursday, after a successful start, the 25-year-old helmsman and his 23-year-old foresailor finished in fifth place in the intermediate classification with places 3, 5, 19 and 11.
After five of eleven races up to the medal final, Erichsen/Spitzmann, who have been getting better and better over the last few months, have thus established a good starting position in the battle for the Olympic ticket, while their national rivals Paul Kohlhoff and Carolina Werner have not yet found their winning streak. After a botched start, the Kiel team, who have been leading the national Olympic qualifiers by eight points so far, were unable to score decisive points on the second day of the World Cup and are in 20th place after just under half of the regatta programme. At this stage, the Rio ticket would go to the team from Flensburg.
However, there are still six races to go in the French World Cup circuit, in which a lot can happen. Both crews are convinced that where there's a will, there's a way. Jan Hauke Erichsen told YACHT online: "We are of course very happy with how things have gone so far, even if we have dropped a few points here and there. We continue to trust in our strength, which we were already able to hint at before Palma de Mallorca." When asked whether the Olympic ticket suddenly being within reach could affect their strategy, Erichsen said: "We're not nervous and are enjoying every race. There are still two days to sail until the medal race."
For Paul Kohlhoff and Carolina Werner from Kiel, the perspective has changed, but not the attitude. Carolina Werner said: "We are still in good spirits. Twice today it was down to the start, in the third race we got off to a great start but were on the wrong side. In the last race of the day we had a good plan but didn't quite get the wind shift. The trend is upwards and we'll be back in full force tomorrow."
While the two North German Nacra 17 crews are fighting for their Olympic chance, their friends and mates in the Audi Sailing Team Germany are getting into shape at the Olympic and Paralympic World Cup. The atmosphere among the athletes is excellent. Laser vice world champion Philipp Buhl defended his lead on the second day of the World Cup. In the 2.4mR, Heiko Kröger improved to fifth place after breaking his equipment on the first day. The German Sonar crew is rehearsing with a different line-up for the Paralympics in September: 2.4mR helmsman Lasse Klötzing has taken over the helm from Jens Kroker in France. The third man in the boat is Siegmund Mainka.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
