Philipp Buhl
Dinghy men: Ilca 7
Meticulous and obsessed with detail, the 34-year-old Allgäu team veteran and active spokesperson is working passionately towards his first medal at the Olympic Games after finishing 14th in Rio de Janeiro and fifth in Enoshima. Germany's first and only world champion in the Ilca 7 (ex-Laser, 2020) will be competing for the Alpsee-Immenstadt Sailing Club and the North German Regatta Club. The 1.87 metre tall helmsman and sports soldier is one of half a dozen medal contenders in the largest and most competitive Olympic sailing discipline with 43 boats. The top favourites are the reigning Olympic and world champion Matt Wearn and Great Britain's Michael Beckett. Buhl's sparring partners Jean-Baptiste Bernaz and Hermann Tomasgaard are also aiming for precious metal. Will all good things finally come in threes for the German enduring dynamo in his third Olympic attempt? What could swing the pendulum in his favour towards the podium this time? "My overall knowledge is greater," says the hunter.
Chances: medal contenders
Simon Diesch & Anna Markfort
Mixed dinghy: 470s
The duo from Lake Constance and Wannsee have prevailed in the toughest national competition. In the new Olympic 470 mixed fleet, Simon Diesch (Württembergischer Yacht-Club) and Anna Markfort (Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee/Joersfelder Segel-Club) are the largest and heaviest crew at 1.82 and 1.85 metres. The helmsman grew up with Olympic gold in the family, which his uncle Jörg and father Eckart Diesch won in the FD in 1976. The foresailor comes from the club where two gold medals hang in the display case, Starboat gold in 1932 and Finn Dinghy gold in 1964. Together, the 29-year-old future lawyer and the 31-year-old teacher have set themselves an ambitious goal, as Anna Markfort reveals: "We want a medal. We want gold. We know we have the potential."
Chances: medal contenders
Sebastian Kördel
Windsurfing men: iQFoil
The windsurfing giant from Radolfzell made a brilliant start to the first Olympics for his sport: he raced to World Championship gold in 2022 and finished runner-up in 2023. The 1.91 metre tall top athlete from the NRV Olympic Team struggled with technical challenges in the Olympic qualifiers at the start of the year, but has overcome them and is now one of the best in his sport. The 31-year-old says: "I know that I can beat everyone. But there are other strong surfers at the start and it all comes down to execution when it really counts." Currently based in Hamburg, "Basti" Kördel learnt his trade on Lake Constance before rising through the ranks as a windsurfing pro in the World Cup and finally taking the opportunity to switch to Olympic surfing. Kördel is an athlete who lets his emotions out and is also looking forward to the national task: "The special thing about the Games is that you unite the nation behind you a little. Everyone wants you to do well. That's nice."
Chances: medal contenders
Paul Kohlhoff & Alica Stuhlemmer
Mixed catamaran: Nacra 17
The Kiel team are the medallists in the Olympic sailing line-up: in 2021, they celebrated their hard-fought bronze medal in Enoshima in rousing style after the final thriller. However, the 29-year-old young father and his loyal 24-year-old team-mate also had to contend with the unexpected departure of their coach and inconsistent results, particularly in light winds, on the Marseille course. At 1.87 metres, the longest helmsman and the shortest fore-sailor at 1.62 metres form a strong duo that had to regroup. The objective in the technically demanding catamaran class, which has been dominated for years by the Italian Olympic champions Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti, is clear. Paul Kohlhoff says: "If you've already won a medal once, you want another one. But we also know that it has become even more difficult." If there was a wish list for the Olympic regatta in the Bay of Marseille, more rather than less wind would be at the top of the list for the crew from the Kiel Yacht Club.
Opportunities: Top six candidates
Jannis Mouse
Kiting men: Formula kite
Jannis Maus' performance curve has risen steadily in time for his Olympic premiere. The 28-year-old chemist and PhD student specialising in renewable energies, who almost became a pilot, confidently beat his team-mate Flo Gruber in the national qualifiers. In the Olympic year, he catapulted himself into the circle of medal candidates by finishing fifth at the World Championships. With his coach Jan-Hauke Erichsen from Flensburg, the clever guy with the blond hair is a "perfect match". Once a tour pro on his own, Jannis Maus feels he is in good hands in the German Sailing Team: "We have a great spirit in the team." At 1.85 metres, the rather light 93-kilogram athlete likes the "tricky" waters of Marseille. Jannis Maus sees six medal candidates in his discipline and says: "I count myself among them. If I can reach the final of the top four, I definitely want a medal."
Chances: top six candidate
Leonie Meyer
Kiting women: Formula Kite
She is the "power woman to the power of three", as team-mate Flo Gruber once called her: Sports soldier Leonie Meyer is heading for Marseille as a mother, doctor and top athlete. The 31-year-old is a master of multiple challenges. Her name Leonie - the lioness, the fighter, the strong one - is the programme. Inspired by her knowledgeable parents, whose father Rolf Meyer was a successful 505 sailor and mother Sabine only just missed out on her Olympic dream in the 470 in 1988, her daughter is aiming high. With around ten kilograms less body weight than the Olympic favourites, she is one of the lightweights in the new Olympic kite sport, where kilos can be converted directly into speed. However, the Kiel kiter from the NRV Olympic Team has a strong understanding of tactics and strategy. She feels comfortable in all conditions, but says honestly: "I would rather wish for a light wind final."
Chances: Top eight candidate
Theresa Steinlein
Windsurfing women: iQFoil
The windsurfer from Wörthsee is the youngest of the German Olympic sailors: just 22 years old, Theresa "Resi" Steinlein initially learnt classic sailing in children's and youth dinghies with her twin sister Sophie, who is one minute younger. While Sophie pursued her career as a 49er FX helmswoman and strategist in the Germany SailGP team, Theresa switched to windsurfing four years ago. It was love at first sight for the fast-paced sport. At 1.63 metres and 62 kilograms, she is one of the lightweights in her discipline and her fighting spirit is reminiscent of Amelie Lux, the "surfing flea" who swept half of Germany off its feet with an Olympic silver medal in Sydney 2000. The sports soldier and business administration student from the NRV Olympic Team wants to play to her tactical and strategic strengths in the challenging Olympic waters. She says: "I think it's a good place for me, where you have to use your head and be flexible."
Chances: Top ten candidate
Marla Bergmann & Hanna Wille
Skiff women: 49er FX
22-year-old Marla Bergmann and 23-year-old Hanna Wille will be making their Olympic debut as one of the youngest crews in the field of 49er FX skiff sailors, which is packed with experienced medallists. The refreshing youngsters from the Mühlenberger Segel-Club on Hamburg's Elbe beach originally had their sights set on the 2028 Olympic Games. Then their rise went faster than expected. They are now seventh in the world rankings and have already beaten all the big names in their skiff discipline. They have christened their Olympic boat "Merci" - their thanks to their club, partners and sponsors and perhaps also a cheeky message to the competition in the Bay of Marseille. The young women, who have been friends since childhood and learnt to sail on the difficult Elbe river and in the Mühlenberger Loch, have little to lose at their Olympic premiere, but everything to gain. Coxswain Marla Bergmann says: "The underdog role is not bad for us. We will give our all to be among the front runners at the Games."
Chances: Top ten candidates
Jakob Meggendorfer & Andreas Spranger
Skiff men: 49er
With a magnificent final spurt, Jakob Meggendorfer and Andreas Spranger have secured their Marseille ticket after initially failing to qualify for the Olympics: The 28-year-old computer science student and the 27-year-old mechanical engineering student won the Last Chance Regatta in Hyères at the end of April, secured a place on the national starting list for Germany's men's skiff at the last minute and catapulted themselves into the team with a late nomination application. In Marseille, the crew from the Bavarian Yacht Club will take on the difficult legacy of two-time Olympic bronze medallists Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel. As the "Bavarian Express" with excellent boat handling, the two sports soldiers want to make the most of their hard-won Olympic premiere in the "racing car at sea" (Spranger on the 49er). The fact that they both started out on an Opti taster course on Lake Chiemsee and have been in the same boat for 14 years - longer than any other crew in the Olympic line-up - should help in the 49er. "We know that we can compete at the very front if we call on the performance we have in us."
Opportunities: Top ten candidates
Julia Büsselberg
Dinghy women: Ilca 6
Berlin Ilca 6 helmswoman Julia Büsselberg moved up to third place in the world rankings last year, almost inconspicuously. The 2021 World Championship fifth-placer struggled in the Olympic qualifiers of all places. Although she was one of the first to secure a starting place for Germany in the Ilca 6 field, she struggled to fulfil the criteria in the battle for an Olympic ticket. The fact that the 24-year-old can now fulfil a lifelong dream with her Olympic premiere is thanks to the DSV application for a subsequent nomination and the green light from the DOSB - "a great honour and opportunity" for Julia Büsselberg. Before Marseille, the maths student wants to transfer her inland sea strengths to the Mediterranean. In her rather slow, tactical single-handed dinghy class, she appreciates "the tough competition" and loves "downwind rides in waves". She also likes to put her maths skills to good use: "Sailing is like geometry on the water in the end."
Chances: Top twelve candidate
