Sailing Grand Slam: Gold, silver and plenty of thrust for the national sailors

No, not all of the Olympic classes were as strong as possible in this opening phase of the post-Olympic season at the Sailing Grand Slam in France. But yes, the best German players in the 470 mixed, in the skiff disciplines, in the Ilca 6 and also in the kiters had to hold their own against very real competition. Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort in the 470 Mixed in particular achieved this in impressive style.

With a clear head to victory in the Sailing Grand Slam

The gold of the 470 mixed duo and the second silver medal for the 49er sailors Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger within a month put the German Sailing Team in third place in the country rankings of the 56th Semaine Olympique Francaise, including a further five top ten placings.

The 470 mixed sailors Theresa Löffler and Christopher Hoerr (Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club/Segel-Club Breitbrunn-Chiemsee) and the 49er Olympic eleventh-placed Jakob Meggendorfer and Andreas Spranger (Bayerischer Yacht-Club) also contributed to the good results of the national sailors with their fourth places.

Anna Markfort, who competes for the Seglerhaus am Wannsee club and the Joorsfelder Segel-Club, said in the afternoon after the final in Hyères: "We kept a clear head here even in the more difficult moments and remained calm. It was a great week. We had everything: sun, light winds, strong winds, medium wind forces - a good mix of everything. We are very happy with the result."

Homework after the Olympic disappointment

Helmsman Simon Diesch (Württembergischer Yacht-Club) explained the psychological significance behind this first Grand Slam victory with Anna Markfort at the start of their second joint Olympic campaign, which has just begun. The 30-year-old helmsman said: "Ultimately, it's an exploration on the way to the Games. Every win you can get along the way is an exclamation mark for yourself - and you think to yourself: 'We can do this, and you should watch out for us'."

It's a good feeling after their disappointing 14th place at their Olympic debut in Marseille last year. Simon Diesch says: "That was definitely a shot across the bows that gave us some homework to do. And it showed that there is still a lot of potential for development in our team. And now there is also the time frame to delve deeper and work on things."

His team knew what it had achieved in the Olympic qualification and before that. "We know," says Simon Diesch, "that we didn't get it on the water in Marseille. The question is simply how we can get it there consistently now. And we've already made some progress in the right direction. We have to keep working on that."

New spirit of optimism in the German Sailing Team

This is in line with the goals of the new British DSV head coach Dom Tidey, who was delighted with his team's performance. Tidey said in Hyères: "Today was a great day and it's been a good week overall. We have a lot going on behind the scenes. This is just the start because there is a lot to do. So we're not going to celebrate too much. But the results show that it is possible to win big events."

Not only in their own crew, but also in the entire German Sailing Team, the sailors sense a new spirit of optimism under Dom Tidey's sporting direction after last summer's medalless Games. Simon Diesch says: "You can definitely feel it. I believe that the head coach in this role, without being a class coach at the same time, can simply put a hat on the whole team, give them a philosophy and a direction."

Simon Diesch says: "I think it's good for the whole team. A, it creates a better sense of togetherness and B, it simply creates a knowledge base, a dialogue based on his philosophy. And of course he is also a coach of distinction. He has won medals as a coach and worked for many, many years in this legendary English association, which everyone thought would be something special."

Why victories on course for the Olympics are so important

Simon Diesch thinks out loud and says: "When someone like that stands up and says: 'Well, dear Germany, you actually have everything you need, you just have to do it', then of course that's also a kick up the arse, where you say: Go for it!" This has already worked well for the Semaine Olympique Française. Click here for the results of the Semaine Olympique Française.

With a view to the current Sailing Grand Slam victory, the nephew and son of Jörg and Eckart Diesch, who sailed to Olympic gold in the Flying Dutchman off Kingston in Canada in 1976, also emphasised the importance of winning major regattas: "In the end, you have to know the feeling of winning (ed.: at the Olympic Games). That's why it's really important to win on the way there."

Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger have also come very close to winning twice this month in the 49er. They impressed twice at the Trofeo Princesa Sofía and now at the Sailing Grand Slam in Hyères with silver. They have only been in the same boat since this year. However, the combination of determined, intensive sailor Richard Schultheis, who has just turned 20 and steers skiffs like moths at world-class level, and experienced foresailor Fabian Rieger, who brought World Championship bronze from 2018 and European Championship gold from 2020 to the boat, seems to be ideal.

I think we're fast and know where to slow down." Fabian Rieger

The fact that they were able to perform so well together straight away also surprised the sailors themselves. Fabian Rieger says: "We didn't expect it to be like this. But you also have to say that it's the start of the post-Olympic season. The pressure in the fleet will certainly increase towards the World Championships (editor's note: for 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 in October)."

It was a good day. It's been a good week." Dom Tidey

The fact that, in addition to Schultheis and Rieger, Jakob Meggendorfer and Andreas Spranger were able to return to the top of the 49er fleet after a long break due to the Olympic Games and the injury in Spain, finishing fourth in Hyères, will be good for the level of the class in the German Sailing Team.

Sailing Grand Slam: Two 49erFX crews in the final

The medal race was decided between the two German men's skiff crews in the final of the Semaine Olympique. Meggendorfer/Spranger won and moved up to fourth place. Schultheis/Rieger came second and grabbed silver. In the 49erFX, Olympic sixth-placed Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille (Mühlenberger Segel-Club) took eighth place ahead of Katharina Schwachhofer/Elena Stoltze (Württembergischer Yacht-Club) in ninth place.

Coxswain Marla Bergmann drew a mixed conclusion, saying: "The week was very tricky, we had long days on the water, a lot of waiting and super challenging conditions. Our heads and bodies are very tired. We got better and better over the week and we were able to put the lessons learnt in Palma into practice straight away. But there is definitely still room for improvement and we know what we need to work on."

Julia Büsselberg (Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee) was the seventh German boat to reach the final with her Ilca 6, taking ninth place. "It was a great day today and a good week for our team overall. It's a pleasure to work with this team," said Dom Tidey in Hyères harbour on Saturday afternoon, smiling quietly.

Head coach praises personal bests

He also pointed out some less obvious individual performances and successes at the Sailing Grand Slam. For example, those of 21-year-old Jan Vöster from the Württemberg Yacht Club. Dom Tidey said: "In addition to the medals and top placings, there were also some individual best performances here, such as that of Jan Vöster, who made it into the top 15 in the kiters for the first time and is developing well."

Vöster's prominent team-mate Jannis Maus (Cuxkiters e.V.) was even better, but just missed out on the final series in eleventh place. The Olympic silver medallist was slowed down by food poisoning at the start of the season at the Sailing Grand Slam in Spain. Jannis Maus got better and better on his comeback this week, finishing the series in the Bay of Hyères with a race win. His conclusion: "I'm basically quite satisfied."

I had a few bright moments, but also a few very dark ones." Jannis Mouse

The 28-year-old athlete from Oldenburg is focussing on further development in his second Olympic campaign: "We're still trying out a few things. We haven't found the perfect set-up yet, but we're on the right track."

As good as in the last race

At the Olympic Games in Marseille, kiters Jannis Maus and Leonie Meyer achieved the best German results with fifth place. Maus is now looking forward to his second Olympic campaign and the "Road to LA28" with determination: "As the saying goes, you're only as good as your last race. I won that here in the gold fleet. I'm already looking forward to the next competition."