Olympia: After a dramatic qualifying thriller - Diesch/Markfort secure the Marseille ticket

Many tears were shed on the final day of the 470 Mixed European Championship in Cannes. There were tears of relief, of exuberant joy, but also tears of deep disappointment. Joy and sorrow were very close together in the camp of the German Sailing Team on this last day of the national Olympic qualifiers after three regattas and a total of 31 races contested. While the dream of participating in the Olympics came true for the elimination winners Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort, it was shattered for Malte and Anastasiya Winkel on the home straight.

The dramaturgy of the decision could hardly have been invented more excitingly by a thriller writer. Helmsman Simon Diesch from the Württembergischer Yacht-Club and Anna Markfort from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club had started the all-important European Championship off Cannes with 34 points after two of three elimination regattas. Their points cushion over their closest rivals Malte and Anastasiya Winkel (29 points) was five points before the first European Championship starting gun.

Shaky ride in four to six knots of wind

However, Diesch/Markfort struggled for the first time after two fourth places in the first and second qualifying regattas in the Mediterranean winds, which were very calm almost throughout the European Championship. By the ninth of the ten races in the main round, they had even dropped to 19th place. In a final show of concentration and strength, they fought their way to fifth place in the last race of the gold fleet and moved up to 13th place overall in the European Championship. They were then unable to do any more.

"The last 24 hours were the worst and longest for both of us" (Anna Markfort"

Malte and Anastasiya Winkel, on the other hand, finished tenth and were the only German crew to narrowly qualify for the medal race. This meant that they had it in their own hands to overtake Diesch/Markfort with a good final run in the elimination. Eighth place or better - everyone knew that - would have been enough for the Winkels to get a ticket to Marseille. The postponement of the start for more than an hour and a half between hopes and fears on land and on the water did not make things any better for the observers or the sailors. "The last 24 hours were the longest and worst for both of us," said Anna Markfort shortly after the final, summarising the tension for her helmsman and herself.

We threw everything we had into it" (Malte Winkel)

All Winkel's hopes were dashed with ninth place in the medal race, in which the wind was once again unable to get up to more than four to six knots. This left the helmsman from the Schwerin Yacht Club and his foresailor from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein in tenth place at the European Championships. That was not enough to snatch the Olympic ticket from Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort. Malte Winkel said: "The pressure has been mounting over the last few days. We threw everything we had into it. But with the light winds, races go either way. It probably wasn't meant to be."

By the end of the elimination round, we had put our backs to the wall" (Simon Diesch)

Adding up all the results from the three qualifying regattas, Diesch/Markfort came out on top in the 470 mixed Olympic qualifier with 42:40 points against Winkel/Winkel. "I saw tears in Simon's eyes too," said Anna Markfort. Her helmsman nodded: "Even if I sometimes pretend to be: I'm not made of steel. We had put our backs against the wall at the end of the elimination. Of course, I also shed a few tears. It's a huge relief."

The 29-year-old, whose uncle and father Jörg and Eckart Diesch sailed to Olympic victory in 1976 on their Flying Dutchman named "Fetz 3", continued: "I said three or four months ago on Lanzarote that one of our greatest strengths is our consistency. That wasn't quite the case here at the European Championships, but with two fourth places in the first two qualifying regattas it was. Malte and Anastasiya did win a medal in Palma, but had two slip-ups in the elimination. We had one. That made the difference in the end."

An Olympic medal is the goal

In the hours following the successful Olympic qualification, Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort's thoughts were also with their defeated team-mates from the German Sailing Team. Simon Diesch said: "On the one hand, dreams have been shattered, that's hard. At the same time, our dreams have been realised." Anna Markfort also thought back to her own elimination defeat three years ago with her then helmswoman Frederike Loewe: "I remembered watching three years ago when Nastja qualified. This time I watched, but I qualified. Everyone in our team has sacrificed everything for the quality we've achieved in recent years. Of course, the standard is high now."

Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort are grateful to their training mates. In addition to Malte and Anastasiya Winkel, Luise Wanser and Philipp Autenrieth, the 470 mixed world champions from 2022, who never quite found their top form in the elimination round, were among the companions in the leading German training group on course for the 2024 Olympics. Theresa Löffler/Christopher Hoerr (Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club/Segel-Club Breitbrunn Chiemsee), who finished twelfth at the European Championships, and Theres Dahnke/Matti Cipra (Plauer Wassersportverein, 18th at the European Championships) also contributed to the team's performance.

We've been fourth often enough recently" (Simon Diesch)

Asked in Cannes about his team's chances of winning an Olympic medal, Simon Diesch said with a smile: "We've been fourth often enough recently. If we weren't among the medal candidates, we would have to withdraw now. We don't intend to do that."

Coach Steve Lovegrove joked: "When Simon smiles, you know he's dangerous." Commenting on the thrilling elimination, Lovegrove said: "We knew that whoever qualified, it would be a strong team. It's such a strong group." Steve Lovegrove describes Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort's particular strength as their "outstanding teamwork", which can withstand high levels of stress.

We had expected an exciting elimination. Wow, we had it!" (Nadine Stegenwalner)

DSV sports director Nadine Stegenwalner said: "We had expected an exciting elimination. Wow, we had it! The reason for this is the world-class training group, which has worked extremely hard and successfully over the past three years under the direction of coaches Steve Lovegrove and Marek Chochian. We are very happy for Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort. And we are sorry for those who did not make it through. Unfortunately, only one team can qualify. I am convinced that we now have a very strong crew for the Olympics thanks to everyone's performance."

The European Championships were won by Spanish world champions and Olympic favourites Jordi Xammar and Nora Brugman ahead of Portugal's Diago Costa and Carolina João and France's Camille Lecointre and Jérémie Mion. All three want to challenge Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort for the medals at their Olympic summit this summer - then without the pressure of national elimination and once again on an equal footing.

Click here for the results of the 470 Mixed European Championship in Cannes.

A look back at the medal final of the 470 Mixed European Championships, which dashed Malte and Anastasiya Winkel's hopes of making their Olympic debut together and made the dream come true for Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort: