The Olympic season has only just begun and the second of the five regattas is already underway. in the Sailing Grand Slam 2026 finished. It was only at the beginning of April that the 55th edition of the 1968 Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca the starting signal was given. More than 1100 athletes from 62 countries took part in high-class Olympic sailing. Now more than 700 sailors from 59 nations have celebrated the 57th edition of the Semaine Olympique Française in the Mediterranean off Hyères.
The national sailing team had to make do without some of its top performers, especially the successful skiff crews, as they are already training in the Bay of Quiberon for their upcoming World Championships from 12 to 17 May. They want to compete for the medals there in May.
Semaine Olympique Française: Team Germany sets priorities
"We were at the Semaine Olympique Française with a smaller team as planned and had to prioritise with a view to the major upcoming championships," explained Dom Tidey. The head coach for the German Sailing Team was with the team in Hyères and said: "The results do not fully reflect what we are capable of as a team."
At the French regatta, individual athletes and crews showed what they are capable of in their disciplines. First and foremost Philipp Buhl. As already at the Trofeo Princesa Sofía in the largest Olympic fleet of Ilca-7 dinghies, the sailor from the Allgäu once again sailed to fourth place. While Australia's double Olympic champion Matt Wearn and the two Brits Michael Beckett and Elliot Hanson conquered the podium, Buhl was hardly inferior to them, setting another exclamation mark halfway through his fifth Olympic campaign.
That's something to be proud of." Philipp Buhl
According to Buhl, he wanted to test a few things this week. "I did some of it really well: a few good starts, a few good light wind races, a few good strong wind races," said the 36-year-old, who competes for the Alpsee-Immenstadt Sailing Club and the North German Regatta Club. A good two years after the Olympic sailing regatta in LA28, Buhl was focussed and goal-oriented off the Côte d'Azur. Dom Tidey also had praise for this: "Philipp sails to the point, with determination and commitment, and has my full respect for this. He has definitely worked hard."
After the Semaine Olympique Française is before the European and World Championships
Buhls has a clear roadmap: "My main goal this year is the World Championships (editor's note: 23 to 30 August in Dun Laoghaire in Ireland). An important stop on the way there is the European Championships in Split (Red.: 15 to 22 May in Kastela in Croatia). I'm still focussing on the process." Buhl wants to regain his place in the squad at the European Championships. The high hurdle for him in what is expected to be a world-class field at World Championship level: a place in the top three.
The other Ilca 7 helmsmen from the German Sailing Team also have their sights set on both major events: rising star Ole Schweckendiek (15th at the Semaine Olympique Française), returnee Nik Aaron Willim (23rd) and their team-mates. Willim and Schweckendiek, who finished ninth and tenth in the medal final at the Trofeo, had to line up a little further back in France despite good performances.
Commenting on his 15th place, which would have made him very happy six months ago, 21-year-old Ole Schweckendiek from the Kieler Yacht-Club said: "There was a bit more in it. But it's a good sign that we still managed a 15th place in a predominantly strong wind race." After the U21 world champion only competed in his first world championship in the Olympic Ilca 7 field last year, his conspicuous international performances have raised his own expectations for good reason. Julia Büsselberg (Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee) sailed to 13th place in the women's Olympic Ilca 6 off Hyères.
"Streetfight Days" in the 470 Mixed
The French regatta classic for Olympic sailors offered its challengers a variety of wind conditions in preparation for this season's major championships and was a good test on the way to this year's European and world title fights. This was true in all classes, even if the conditions were different. For example, many of the top crews in the 470 mixed did not compete with their best equipment because some of the boats and equipment had already been loaded into containers and were on their way to the former Olympic port of Enoshima, where the World Championships will be held from 10 to 17 August.
Theresa Löffler and Christopher Hoerr fought their way to tenth place in the 470 Mixed with speed in medium and light winds, but also some positioning weaknesses. In the hotly contested two medal races, they finished sixth and seventh and enjoyed the close battles in crisp winds. Racing for the German Touring Yacht Club and the Breitbrunn Chiemsee Sailing Club, Löffler/Hoerr represented the German colours right to the end, experiencing "streetfighting days", as "Thesi" Löffler described the fiercely competitive races.
Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort (Württembergischer Yacht-Club/Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee/Joersfelder Segel-Club), on the other hand, had to put up with an unusual slip-up at the Semaine Olympique Française. The reigning 470 Mixed World Championship runners-up had missed out on a place in the gold fleet at the end of the two-day qualification and had to reorientate themselves in the silver fleet for the first time in their career together.
Jannis Maus: back in the top ten house
"That can remain an exception," said Anna Markfort in Hyères. She saw her crew's lack of light wind speed, "which otherwise saves us", and also the consequences of the four-month break due to studies as contributory causes for missing out on a place in the gold fleet, to which - like the Olympics - only 19 crews were admitted. The Diesch/Markfort duo have only been back in action for five weeks. While Theres Dahnke and Paco Melzer (Plauer Wassersportverein/Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee/Yachtclub Berlin-Grünau) sailed to 13th place, Diesch/Markfort finished the series as winners of the silver fleet in 20th place.
Olympic fifth-placed Jannis Maus (Cuxkiters e.V.) returned to the top ten at the Semaine Olympique Française. After narrowly missing out on a place in the medal series in eleventh place at the Trofeo, he catapulted himself into the quarter-finals in France. "It was basically a good week, even if I had hoped for a bit more on the final day," said the doctoral student in wind energy research. His assessment: "I made too many small mistakes in Palma. We analysed that well with our coach. Here in Hyères, I really wanted to be stable. Overall, I managed that well."
The Olympic kiters are also looking ahead to the highlight of the World Championships from 9 to 16 May in Viano do Castelo. "With that in mind, we tended to ride a little more conservatively here in France with our world championship equipment, we didn't want to risk a tangle, a crash or a break and wanted to bring everything home in one piece," explained Jannis Maus.
On course for the World Cup in a good mood
Sparring partner and team-mate Jan Vöster (Württembergischer Yacht-Club), who finished an impressive seventh at the start of the season in Spain, was not entirely satisfied with 23rd place in Hyères. Nevertheless, the 22-year-old Formula kiter finished the Mediterranean regatta optimistically, saying: "It didn't go smoothly for me, but I can take a lot from it and am still in a great mood and very motivated for the World Championships." To the final results of the Semaine Olympique Française here.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
