Paralympic sailing: Heiko Kröger on course for Rio with World Championship gold

He fought to the end and forced the preliminary decision with a race win on the final day: Heiko Kröger won his eighth world championship title in the Paralympics keelboat class 2.4mR in Holland. The helmsman from Jersbek thus impressively underlined his medal ambitions for the Paralympic Games off Rio de Janeiro in September. In a total of ten races, Kröger secured three race wins and four second places. He had conquered the top position halfway through the world championships and never relinquished it again, although his constant rival Damien Seguin from France came on stronger towards the end. However, his final spurt could not win him the coveted gold, which Heiko Kröger happily took home with him. As well as the status of favourite for the summit race in Rio de Janeiro.

The new world champion from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein in Hamburg showed 29 competitors at the world championship as part of the Delta Lloyd Regatta that he is still the measure of all things in the keelboat class 16 years after his first Paralympic gold medal. The 50-year-old Kröger said: "That was a hard piece of work. It's good for my self-confidence that I was able to show in the preparation for Rio that I can pull off a series. Now I'm looking forward to the national team's home match at Kieler Woche."

In the Paralympic Sonar class, the newly formed trio with helmsman Lasse Klötzing from Potsdamer Yacht-Club, Jens Kroker (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) and Siegmund Mainka (Yachtclub Berlin-Grünau) sailed to fifth place. The team has only been in action for five weeks in this constellation due to the illness of Paralympics winner Robert Prem and has already shown during the series with three second places that there is still room for improvement before the Paralympics in September.

Click here for the results