470 Mixed World Championship: Powerplay in Poland - German duos in the hunt for medals

Three races were sailed at the 470 Mixed World Championship in Gdynia. This meant that the race committee and crews had their hands full. The 49 mixed doubles from 19 nations had to wait a long time for their first starting signal on Whit Monday. It was not until 6 p.m. that the first of the two races, held in a shifty and gusty 20 knots of wind, began. The impressive pictures of the day show how the sailors had to fight.

470 Mixed World Championship: Dahnke/Melzer with a lightning start

On day two, one rain front after another swept over the course, making it difficult for the race organisers to lay out a suitable course. Nevertheless, it was possible to finish another race, bringing the total to three so far. The crews from the German Sailing Team have already been able to shine with two victories on the day. Theres Dahnke and Paco Melzer (Plauer Wassersportverein/Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee) made a particularly strong start to the world championships.

The duo have only been sailing in one boat since November 2024. Paco Melzer previously sailed 420s and 49ers - always as helmsman. Now he has joined the experienced 470 helmswoman Theres Dahnke as the foreswain. "I think our strength lies in taking everything relatively calmly and thinking from race to race. It has been important for us so far that we can improve in every regatta that we have sailed in the spring so far," says Theres Dahnke.

The recent improvement at the World Championship opener is remarkable: Theres Dahnke and Paco Melzer are in second place behind the French Matisse Pacaud and Lucie de Gennes after finishing 3rd, 2nd and 2nd "string-free". "The wind was between five and eleven knots, but oscillated around 90 degrees between the fronts, so there was only one race today. We recognised the gusts very well yesterday and today. That was worth its weight in gold. We were always at the front at the first buoy and were then able to make up a few places," reported Theres Dahnke.

Two one-day victories for the national sailing team

With a win on the day and 4th and 7th places, Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort, who finished fifth at the European Championships and fourth in the intermediate classification, have also created a very good starting point for the series. The duo, who have already won gold and silver at Sailing Grand Slam regattas this year, remain hungry for medals.

Malte Winkel and Paula Schütze (Schweriner Yacht-Club/Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) also won the day on Tuesday, although they had also had an early start on Whit Monday. Winkel/Schütze were in eleventh place after three races, directly behind Olympic champion Lara Vadlau from Austria and her new co-skipper Niklas Haberl, with the overall points gap still narrow. Malte Winkel said: "There was a lot of wind on the first day, so we still had our difficulties, but today I think we got off to a good start in the World Championship."

There are many opportunities on the race course. You always have to be alert." Malte Winkel

Malte Winkel continued: "We were leading the second race today when it was cancelled. Of course, that gives you self-confidence, even if you can't buy anything for it. We hope that we can pick up where we left off tomorrow in different conditions. It really demands everything from the sailors here because we have a different wind direction, a different wind force and a different wave almost every day. We have a lot of clouds moving through. The wind goes up and down a lot and is very changeable."

470 Mixed World Championship: exciting series ahead

Malte Winkel explained what this means for the crews on Tuesday evening at the 470 Mixed World Championship: "It is very difficult to keep your concentration high on all crosses and in all races, to read the clouds correctly and to make the right decisions. That's why I think it's going to be a very, very exciting World Championship. There will be a little bit more wind tomorrow. We are ready and will see what the next few days bring."

Theresa Löffler and Christopher Hoerr (Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club/Segelclub Breitbrunn Chiemsee) should want to make up places as quickly as possible after finishing 9th, 8th and 16th in 21st place. Click here for all the results of the 470 Mixed World Championship. The Spanish defending champions and favourites Jordi Xammar and Marta Cardona opened the World Championships in Poland in sixth place after three races following a near capsize. Two more races are scheduled for 11 June. The title series ends on 14 June with the medal final.

It wasn't easy! Insights into the first of the two days of racing at the 470 Mixed World Championship so far: