Trofeo Princesa Sofía: Five podiums at the halfway point - Team Germany's aces stand out
Tatjana Pokorny
· 03.04.2024
The first half of the Trofeo Princesa Sofía has been completed. More than 1,100 athletes from 76 nations have been transforming the bay of Palma into a magnificent and colourful stage for Olympic sailing since Easter Monday. On day three, light to medium winds were the order of the day on all courses. The best German crew remained Paul Kohlhoff and Alica Stuhlemmer from the Kieler Yacht-Club in the Nacra 17. The Olympic bronze medallists from Enoshima lead the field after seven races ahead of the Italian Olympic champions and Nacra dominators Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti.
In four other disciplines, German boats and boards are promisingly in third place. Philipp Buhl remains strong in the Ilca 7. Although the 2020 world champion suffered a low blow with 38th place in race five, he shared this annoying "string run" with all four top-placed helmsmen, including Olympic champion Matt Wearn. The race organisers had allowed a 30-degree turn to go through, which threw all the top sailors back. Buhl was undeterred by this - and went on to win race six.
The "new" Philipp Buhl practises patience and clarity
"I have to be patient, stay calm and make clear decisions" is his new motto. It is the realisation from an intensive training session with five-time Olympic medal winner and double Olympic champion Robert Scheidt. Philipp Buhl and his Olympic team-mate and challenger Nik Aaron Willim were helped by their NRV Olympic Team and its sponsor Marcus Brennecke. For Philipp Buhl, who has been active in the Laser for 23 years, training with the historically most successful Laser sailor was of great value.
Buhl says: "Thanks to Marcus Brennecke, Nik and I had the unique opportunity to learn from Robert Scheidt. Robert looked after us during training and at a very professionally organised training regatta. He answered a lot of our questions. For all those who don't know Robert: Robert Scheidt is a Brazilian of German descent, five-time Olympic medallist, nine-time world champion in the Ilca-7 class and incredibly experienced. Particularly in the Ilca-7 class, where tactical sailing takes place in a very confined space."
Buhl, who himself sailed to the historic first German World Championship title in the oldest active Olympic boat class in 2020, continued: "Not only were we incredibly lucky that Marcus was able to convince a legend like Robert, but we were also blessed with wind conditions: We were able to train in exactly the rather lighter wind conditions that harbour the greatest potential." At the Trofeo Princesa Sofía, the "new" Philipp Buhl copes better with the weaker winds, which are particularly challenging for him.
Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille impress in the 49er FX
Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille in the 49er FX also moved up to third place after the first half of the Spanish classic. The young crew from Mühlenberger Segel-Club shone on Wednesday in the bay of Palma with a race win and a second place. This gave the sailors from the Elbe a good starting position for the second half of the season and the battle for victory in the national elimination, which they are leading. SailGP strategist Sophie Steinlein and Jill Paland (NRV) also made a leap forward on Wednesday, opening half-time two on Thursday in a strong seventh place.
iQFoil windsurfer Theresa Steinlein is also lurking in third place. The twin sister of SailGP strategist Sophie Steinlein is getting closer and closer to her Olympic dream. Coach Daniel Slijk says of the up-and-comer, who only switched from sailing to Olympic windsurfing in 2020: "She has made enormous progress and always has a very good overview of the course."
Leonie Meyer also remains on course for the Olympics in third place in the new Olympic kitesurfing competition. The NRV athlete wants to maximise her points cushion for the World Championships at her second of three qualifying regattas, where the decision will be made as to whether she can secure an Olympic ticket. This also applies to her team-mates Jannis Maus and Flo Gruber, who will also be competing in their internal duel. It's all about which of them gets to fight for Olympic medals in Marseille. Jannis Maus (Cuxkiters e. V.) finished the first half of the Trofeo Princesa Sofía in the bay of Palma with a race win and was in ninth place after twelve races. NRV kiter Flo Gruber opened the second half in twelfth place.
iQFoil windsurfing giant Sebastian Kördel upwind
iQFoil windsurfer Sebastian Kördel is getting better and better. The 2022 World Champion and 2023 World Championship runner-up got off to a weak start to the season with a botched World Championship, fought his way to sixth place in his second elimination regatta at the iQFoil Games in Cadiz despite a crash and injury and now, according to his own calculations, still needs a top eleven finish to fulfil all the criteria for nomination for the Olympic regatta in Marseille. "My starting position is good," said the 1.91 metre tall windsurfing giant optimistically at the halfway point in Can Pastilla. The positive attitude is also based on the fact that he has achieved the result so far in the huge field of 107 windsurfers in rather light conditions - they are not his greatest strength.
"The starts were also my biggest weakness at the World Championships. I only had one weak start in eight starts here. We worked a lot on the starts," explained Kördel on Wednesday evening in Can Pastilla. He added with a smile: "I'm getting better and better. I'm more the kind of guy who performs in the summer." Which sounds like a good omen for his hoped-for Olympic première.
Meanwhile, the German 49er men are struggling to fulfil all the nomination criteria of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) at the Trofeo Princesa Sofía, which is already their last qualifying regatta, and will have to secure their remaining place in the national starting field at the Last Chance Regatta in April if they want to take part in Marseille.
All German 49er crews are still missing a top twelve result in one of the three qualifying regattas. The last chance is the current week in Spain. To achieve this, a place in the top ten nations at the end of the elimination, which will be hard to come by after weak performances so far. The best GER crew at the Trofeo halfway stage were Fabian Rieger and Tom Heinrich in seventh place. They were followed by Jakob Meggendorfer/Andreas Spranger in 16th place and Max Stingele/Linov Scheel in 20th place. These results would not help any of the three crews to clear both DOSB nomination hurdles on course for the 2024 Olympics.
The 470 mixed thriller continues
Germany's best 470 mixed crews have much better Olympic prospects. For them, it's all about which of the three world-class crews can win the ticket. World Championship fourth-placed Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort (Württembergischer Yacht-Club/Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee) are leading the internal elimination. At the second elimination regatta in Spain, Malte and Anastasiya Winkel (Schweriner Yacht-Club/NRV) were just ahead of Diesch/Markfort (5th) in fourth place at the halfway point. The 2022 World Champions Luise Wanser and Philipp Autenrieth (NRV/Bayerischer Yacht-Club) are in tenth place in the gold fleet. The decision on the 470 mixed Olympic ticket will be made at the latest at the European Championships in Cannes in May.
Summer regatta fun in the bay of Palma - a review of the third day of racing on Wednesday:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
