The Berlin 49er sailors Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel won bronze at the dress rehearsal in the Olympic area off Rio de Janeiro and demonstrated that they are also among the top performers in their discipline in the complicated wind and current conditions. The team from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein was only beaten by world champion and America's Cup helmsman Peter Burling with Blair Tuke from New Zealand and the Austrians Nico Delle-Karth and Nikolaus Resch.
However, there are still two hurdles to overcome before the German 49er sailors can make it to the Olympics. One team still has to secure a place on the national starting list at the World Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina. And: In the duel between Erik Heil/Thomas Plößel and the reigning young European champions Justus Schmidt and Max Boehme from Kiel, only one crew can win the Olympic ticket. After the first of three elimination regattas, Schmidt/Boehme have a clear lead with 25:13 points thanks to their European Championship title. Erik Heil said in Brazil: "At the moment the points gap is quite large due to the bonus points for the title. We are clearly the hunters. Justus and Max have initially taken on a certain role as favourites. We hope that we can redefine the game with a World Cup medal." With their third place at the test regatta, Heil/Plößel will take their renewed self-confidence into the next elimination regattas.
Laser vice world champion Philipp Buhl, on the other hand, suffered his first minor setback in a long time after a series of outstanding successes before Rio. Nevertheless, the man from Sonthofen achieved his minimum target with ninth place and gained the certainty that he can safely move into the top ten even in the most difficult conditions. On Saturday evening German time, Paul Kohlhoff and Max Boehme from Kiel will start the final of the fast twin-hull sailors in the new Olympic mixed catamaran class Nacra 17 in fifth place with a chance of winning a medal.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
