First of all, it is striking how smoothly the races at the San Pedro Olympic Classes Regatta are going this week, even in the upcoming Olympic venue. Postponements or cancellations, which are a regular occurrence in the natural arenas of competitive sailing? Not a trace of them! Two years ahead of the 2028 Olympic regatta, the LA venue in San Pedro Bay is showing itself at its very best and is receiving nothing but praise from the Olympians.
Leading the way in the upcoming Olympic venue: Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger
According to the brilliant performance of the German 470 mixed pairs from the German Sailing Team in July, the Skiff and Nacra 17 teams are currently in the thick of it. The men’s 49er class is proving to be incredibly exciting, with plenty of changes in the standings. One thing, however, has remained unchanged since day one of the regatta: Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger continue to lead the world-class field of 31 crews with confidence, even after the fourth day of the Olympic test event.
The 21-year-old coxswain from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein and his 30-year-old bowman from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club, since this year’s Kieler Woche supported by three-time TP52 world champion Harm Müller Spreer and his company, Platoon Aviation, have built up a 16-point lead over Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn from New Zealand with 61 net points from twelve races so far. This exciting battle for the top spot is being fought out between two teams whose young helmsmen know each other very well.
Richard Schultheis, who grew up in Malta and has been competing for the German Sailing Association for the past year and a half, and the son of sailing star and SailGP director Russell Coutts – who is just one month younger – know each other well from dinghy sailing and have trained together. In Auckland, Schultheis was always a welcome guest at the Coutts’ home.
Both are working hard to qualify for the 2028 Olympics. To this end, Richard Schultheis has also postponed his commitment to join the German SailGP team, where Erik Kosegarten-Heil sees him as a potential successor for the future. Richard Schultheis, however, wants to focus first and foremost on the hunt for Olympic medals, whilst his sister, Moth World Champion Antonia Schultheis has been training with the Germany SailGP Team since the start of this year.
Moth sailing as the foundation for Olympic success
Having come up through the ranks at the Malta Young Sailors Club and now competing for the NRV on Hamburg’s Alster, Richard Schultheis has Already two fifth-place finishes at the Motten World Championships achieved. He secured his first title in 2024 almost from a standing start, shortly after entering the top-flight solo foiler class. Mattias Coutts has already claimed the world championship title in the Motte 2024. “Sailing the Motte is important for learning from and alongside the world’s best sailors for the future,” says Richard Schultheis.
Schultheis and Coutts are now among the most promising 49er helmsmen on course for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Both face strong domestic competition – Schultheis with Rieger and Coutts with Gunn. Representing New Zealand, Seb Menzies – who is also a member of the defending champions’ America’s Cup team, Emirates Team New Zealand – and George Lee Rush won this year’s 49er World Championships, whilst Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn suffered a setback and could not finish higher than 20th.
Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger, too, suffered a few painful setbacks at the 49er World Championships following outstanding results throughout the season and a strong start to the championships, finishing in 15th place. Jakob Meggendorfer and Andreas Spranger from the Bavarian Yacht Club finished fourth at the World Championships in May, following a number of injury-related withdrawals. The pair, who finished 11th at the Marseille Olympics, also have their sights set on the LA28 class and, alongside Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger under the guidance of DSV coach Ryan Seaton, form a top-class training group within the German Sailing Team.
Father and role model: exceptional sailor and SailGP director Russell Coutts
At the first major Olympic test event in San Pedro Bay, two years ahead of the Olympics in the USA, Schultheis/Rieger and Coutts/Gunn are once again the dominant forces. Meggendorfer and Spranger were eighth after twelve races but were also on course for the medal final. Menzies and Lee Rush, in sixteenth place, were already 22 points behind tenth place, which still leads to the final after the last three races of the main round.
These three decisive races are scheduled for this Friday, with a nine-hour time difference between Los Angeles and Germany. The medal races will take place on Saturday. Will it come down to a battle for victory between the “rising stars” Schultheis and Coutts? It is telling that, during a lengthy interview with YACHT, Richard Schultheis named two New Zealanders when asked about his role models: “For a while, Peter Burling (Ed.: 49er Olympic champion, three-time America’s Cup winner) was someone who delivered the results.”
"As an all-round sailor, I’d probably love to be the next Russell Coutts." Richard Schultheis
As he vies for the title of best overall sailor, Richard Schultheis will be teaming up with Fabian Rieger in the 49er class, where they are set to face thrilling battles against Russell Coutts’ son, Mattias Coutts, and Oscar Gunn. The latest showdown is currently taking place in the future Olympic venue, where both aim to compete for medals in two years’ time.
German women’s FX sailors are battling it out in the Olympic qualifiers for a place in the final
Alongside the men’s 49er class, the women’s Olympic 49erFX class is also competing in the Los Angeles harbour area. After twelve races, the skiff women’s standings are led by the British pair Freya Black and Saskia Tidey, ahead of the Olympic silver medallists Vilma Bobeck and Ebba Berntsson. Interestingly, the Dutch Olympic champion and three-time world champion Odile Lambriex van Aanholt is working her way through the ranks with her new bowman, Karlinde Van Arendonk In eighth place, already heading back towards the top.
The two German crews, Sophie Steinlein and Cathy Bartelheimer (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein/Bayerischer Yacht-Club/Segelclub Inning am Ammersee) and the reigning European champions and sixth-placed finishers at the Marseille Olympics, Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille (Mühlenberger Segel-Club), were in tenth and eleventh place respectively after twelve races; they aim to move significantly further up the rankings on the penultimate day and secure their place in the final.
This article from The Foil provides some useful insights into the future Olympic venue:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter