Trofeo Princesa Sofía: Four Olympic tickets awarded, four open, two missed

There was a lot at stake for Germany's best Olympic sailors this Spanish week at the Trofeo Princesa Sofía off Mallorca. In the bay of Palma, candidates from the German Sailing Team were competing for their Olympic tickets. For seven disciplines, the Spanish classic marked the last of three qualifying regattas.

Philipp Buhl (Ilca 7), Paul Kohlhoff/Alica Stuhlemmer (Nacra 17), Sebastian Kördel (iQFoil men) and Theresa Marie Steinlein (iQFoil women) were able to fulfil all the nomination requirements of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) in four classes. They are expected to be nominated for the Olympic Games in June. The Olympic bronze medallists Kohlhoff/Stuhlemmer (8th in Spain) and the 2022 windsurfing world champion Basti Kördel (18th in Spain) were united by the fact that the joy over their successful Olympic qualification was mixed with a little disappointment over their performance in the Bay of Palma.

In the end, however, the joy prevailed. Paul Kohlhoff said: "We want more than we were able to show here this week. And we can do more. But we are proud to be competing together at the Olympic Games for the second time." It will even be the third Games for helmsman Kohlhoff. Sebastian Kördel will be making his debut, as will Theresa Marie Setinlein, who only started windsurfing in 2020 and has been on a steep upward curve.

Ilca 6 and 49er: Nomination hurdles not cleared

For the Ilca 6 and 49er classes, on the other hand, the nomination hurdles on course for the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad were too high. Although the Berlin Ilca 6 helmswoman Julia Büsselberg was able to shine once again in Spain with sixth place, her 31st place at the World Championships, 23rd place at the European Championships and her Trofeo performance were not enough to place her among the top ten nations.

The German 49er men also missed this target. They also lacked the individual top twelve result that they should have achieved in at least one of their three qualifying regattas. Now, for the first time since the turn of the millennium and the 49er premiere in Sydney 2000, the Olympic Games are likely to take place without the traditionally strong German 49er crews, for whom Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel last won two consecutive Olympic bronze medals in Rio de Janeiro and Enoshima in 2016 and 2021.

49erFX squad battles for a place on the national starting grid

The German skiff sailors in the 49erFX still have an open task to solve. Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille from Mühlenberger Segel-Club won the elimination with a commanding fifth place at the Trofeo Princesa Sofía. However, they are still missing a place in the Nations Cup. All German FX crews - per Bergmann/Wille - will be competing for this at the Last Chance Regatta off Hyères in April, even if the spot can only be filled by the two young women from Hamburg. "We promised ourselves this mutual support before the start of the elimination," said Marla Bergmann. She added: "We are optimistic that we can make it to the national starting line-up."

The outcome of the kiteboarding Olympic elimination remains open until the World Championships in May. In the women's event, however, Leonie Meyer is undisputedly on course for success in this country. The top athlete from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein has performed well in two qualifying regattas so far and is heading for her Olympic goal in a strong position after finishing third in the Trofeo. In the kite men's competition, the duel between Jannis Maus (Cuxkiters e.V.) and Flo Gruber (NRV) will continue until the World Championships. After the Trofeo Princesa Sofía, which ended on Saturday, Jannis Maus (6th in Spain) is leading with 28:15 points ahead of Flo Gruber (10th in Spain).

The 470 elimination thriller continues

The German 470 mixed elimination thriller remained exciting right to the end. This was helped on the final day of the Trofeo Princesa Sofía by the fact that the medal race for the mixed two-handed crews was cancelled in very light winds. The bad luck seemed like an annoying déjà vu, especially for the elimination leaders Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort (Württembergischer Yacht-Club). At the World Championships, when they were in top form, they had to swallow the fact that the cancellation of the medal final left them in fourth place with no chance of fighting for a podium place. Now this has happened to them for the second time in a row.

"We started here with a good points cushion. Now it's smaller, but still not gone," said Anna Markfort on the beach in S'Arenal on Saturday afternoon. Their strongest national Olympic rivals Malte and Anastasiya Winkel (Schweriner Yacht-Club/NRV), on the other hand, retained the third place they had fought for over five days in many qualification races and a few gold fleet races. The sailing couple from Kiel were thus able to reduce their deficit on Diesch/Markfort from eight to five points after two of three elimination regattas.

Ahead of the third and decisive elimination regatta as part of the 470 Mixed European Championships in Cannes in May, Simon Diesch/Anna Markfort (34 points) continue to lead the fiercely contested German world-class group in the battle for just one Olympic ticket ahead of Malte Winkel/Anastasiya Winkel (29 points), who have moved closer, Theresa Löffler/Christopher Hoerr (Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club/Segelclub Breitbrunn Chiemsee, 19 points), Luise Wanser/Philipp Autenrieth (NRV/Bayerischer Yacht-Club, 18 points) and Theres Dahnke/Matti Cipra (Plauer Wassersportverein, 10 points).

Tenth place in the national rankings and three medals

The German Sailing Team's results at the Trofeo Princesa Sofía, which was held under Olympic elimination pressure, were largely positive. The national sailors finished the regatta with 1100 active participants on almost 850 boats and boards from 76 countries in tenth place in the national ranking, which Italy won ahead of Norway, France and Spain. However, the German sailors were one of only five national teams to win more than two medals - one silver and two bronze - without some medal races that were cancelled due to the lull on the final day.

The best individual starter in front of Mallorca was Philipp Buhl, who was focussed in the light winds of the last few days, which he was not overly fond of. In the medal final, he came sixth in the duel for silver against sparring partner Jean-Baptiste Bernaz. The 34-year-old Buhl also managed to leave the reigning world and Olympic champion Matt Wearn behind him in the overall standings, finishing second in the largest Olympic field of 193 Ilca 7 helmsmen, beaten only by the Briton Michael Beckett.

Alongside a handful of other strong competitors, it is these two exceptional sailors - Beckett and Wearn - that Buhl has his sights set on with a view to his third Olympic participation ahead. Beckett and Wearn have been able to pull away slightly in the Ilca 7 class over the past year and a half. Buhl is well on the way to catching them again.

Click here for the results of the 53rd Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca by Iberostar.

The highlights from the final day: