You've been head coach of the national sailing team since the end of last year. The 2028 Olympics is the medium-term goal. A dream job?
I've been in the British team for most of my life: first as an athlete, then as a coach until the Olympic Games. The move to the German Sailing Team means a big change. The question for me is: will I be able to do it without the support of the British system? It feels like that.
What type of head coach are you?
The fundamental change I'm trying to bring in: I want to spend as much time as possible with the athletes on the water. With them and the discipline coaches to get an overview of their programmes. So that I am able to advise and guide them in certain directions. The sailors must realise that there will be a lot more contact with the head coach during this campaign and that I will also tell them what I expect from them.
You initially coached windsurfer Sebastian Kördel in the last Olympic cycle.
When we started working together, Sebastian didn't know how to run an Olympic campaign or what it was all about. I brought in my experience and guided him. After a year of working together, we won the World Championships. That was a very proud and unforgettable moment for both of us. One of my worst moments was not winning a medal with him in Paris, even though we felt we were on the right track.
Dom Tidey: appointed coach?
Defeats are also part of a coaching career?
I lost two Olympic windsurfing competitions to Nick Dempsey (editor's note: Dempsey took part in the Games five times, winning bronze in 2004 and silver in 2012 and 2016) and later coached him on the Rio course, where he won silver. As an athlete, you don't think about becoming a coach at first. I was then relatively successful as a coach and thought: OK, maybe I'm destined to be a coach. So I just thought again: now I'm a head coach. Maybe in ten years' time I'll be able to say: I was destined to be a head coach.
You kicked off the new Olympiad with a camp for the whole team before the start of the season. The objective?
I had invited special guests, among others: We had a coach from the world of cycling and a physiologist with us. It was important to me for the team to hear their stories from a completely different sporting perspective, to learn about their challenges, their training and their goals. I wanted to raise awareness of how much scientific knowledge and structures are used in other sports.
With what goal?
I am interested in opening us up to other sports. As far as I understand it, there hasn't been a huge exchange between sports in Germany so far, but everyone can learn from everyone. You can also learn a lot from sailing.
Experienced Olympic athletes strengthen the team
What would that be, for example?
Take a regatta week with training sessions, briefings, races and debriefings. The challenges range from the question of how to structure such a demanding week to the mental decision-making processes. I am convinced that there are many positive exchange opportunities between the sports in the German sports system.
What is your current view of the German Sailing Team?
There is a good mix. We have a base of athletes who have already competed at the Olympics and are motivated to do another campaign. I think we currently have even more people with Olympic experience in the team than was the case after the Games in Japan on course for Paris 2024. That's important for the build-up.
Why?
Even with experienced coaches, it's very hard to get the message across to the 'newcomers' about what the Olympic Games really feel like. The Olympics is a different event! Experienced Olympians are best placed to pass this on.
Your first year as a coach has got off to an excellent start: At the first two Grand Slams, there was silver and gold for the 470 mixed duo Simon Diesch/Anna Markfort, who then also shone with World Championship silver just before Kiel Week. The 49er crew Schultheis/Rieger also won two Grand Slam silver medals. Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille won European Championship gold in the 49erFX...
That was very good. As were some individual performances. But we won't celebrate that too much just yet. This is just the beginning. It all started with the low at the last Olympic Games and the debriefing afterwards. The question is: what will we take with us into the future? It's still early in the new Olympic cycle. There is still a lot of work ahead of us.
A lot of work for the new team family
Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort in particular struggled with the light wind conditions at the Olympic regatta in Marseille 2024 and even missed out on the medal race as co-favourites. They were very disappointed about this and have launched another Olympic campaign. They say they would like to settle their score with the Games...
If Simon and Anna ever thought they had a light wind weakness, I didn't see it at the World Championships in Gdynia. They got themselves into very strong positions there and really stood up when it mattered.
Shortly before, 49erFX Olympic sixth-placed Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille had won their first major title with European Championship gold...
That was the first big medal of the year - a great performance. In the final fleet race, Marla and Hanna fought for their chance with second place - and then made the most of it. The whole group was good. This is a great stepping stone towards the summer and then the World Championships.
You say that there is still a lot of work waiting for the entire German Sailing Team on the Road to LA28? Your motto for this?
I would describe it like this: Lead the talent. Let the team grow. Fulfil the dream. I also like the motto of my sailing club Parkstone Yacht Club in Poole: 'Bring sailing to life'. I want to help bring a new energy to the German Sailing Team. We will be working with some new people, we will have emotions, there will be love for each other. We will build a team family.
Replay! The breakthrough at the 470 Mixed World Championships for Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort - after a strong series on the final day, they had created a good basis for the final. They won World Championship silver on equal points with the Spanish world champions Jordi Xammar Hernàndez and Marta Cardona Alcàntara - with one crying and one laughing eye:
