The German Olympic sailors got the new season off to a rousing start off Mallorca. In the bay of Palma, the national team took second place in the Spanish classic Trofeo Princesa Sofía behind France and ahead of Spain in the nations' ranking with 62 countries. The successful skiff sailors were the main contributors: Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein/Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee) won the 49er. Sophie Steinlein/Catherine Bartelheimer (NRV/Segelclub Inning am Ammersee) sailed to second place in the women's equivalent 49erFX.
German skiff sailors shine in the bay of Palma
"We climbed up the ladder throughout the series. One step was still missing in the final. And we took it," said Fabian Rieger, summarising the Spanish week at the start of the season. The Schultheis/Rieger duo are regarded as the biggest skiff hopefuls on course for the 2028 Olympics. Richard Schultheis was born in Berlin but grew up in Malta. The two-time Moth World Championship fifth-placer has been competing for the German Sailing Association since 2025. "We complement each other very well as a team," said the exceptionally talented Schultheis, whose foresailor is ten years older and is known as the World Cup bronze medallist from 2018 is already very experienced.
In addition to silver medallists Sophie Steinlein and Catherine Bartelheimer, Olympic sixth-placed Marla Bergmann/Hanna Wille (Mühlenberger Segel-Club) and Maru Scheel/Freya Feilcke from Kiel in fifth and eighth place completed the strong overall result for the German skiff sailors. After fifth place at last year's World Championships, the Olympic squad sailors Steinlein and Bartelheimer were once again in the lead in the final sprint.
With regard to her renewed success, Sophie Steinlein points to her growing experience as a team and also the sailing she learnt as a child and teenager in complicated inland sea conditions. She says: "I like tricky and offshore conditions. I grew up in Bavaria on a lake with such conditions." Her words sound similar to those often used by two-time 49er bronze medallist Erik Heil when talking about his favourite "tricky conditions". He also grew up in Berlin as an inland sailor.
Buhl back on a par with the best
Like her twin sister, Olympic windsurfing sixth-placed Theresa Steinlein, Sophie Steinlein is also a member of the Olympic squad. Together with Catherine Bartelheimer, who struggled through the Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca due to illness, Sophie Steinlein would like to compete together with her sister "Resi" at the next Olympic Games in LA28. But the national competition is also awake and ambitious, as could be seen in the Balearic Islands.
Ilca-7 helmsman Philipp Buhl from the Allgäu region just missed the podium in fourth place at the Trofeo Prinecsa Sofía Mallorca. In the largest Trofeo field of 199 starters, he was once again the best German Ilca 7 competitor at the first Sailing Grand Slam regatta of the year. This performance must be rated highly, as Buhl even had to put up with a rare day of absence due to a severe cold. However, he made a successful comeback against the high strike result, finishing the main round with a race win. In the double medal final with two races instead of one, it was not quite enough to make it onto the podium, which was occupied by double Olympic champion Matt Wearn and Britons Elliot Hanson and Michael Beckett.
I'm back at a level where Wearn and the British take me very seriously. That's a good thing." Philipp Buhl
Kiel's U21 world champion Ole Schweckendiek also made a strong impression in the Bay of Palma. Ten or more years younger than the prominent Ilca 7 competition, the KYC helmsman even led the huge field for a short time, beating top people like Matt Wearn in individual races. "If someone had offered me a place in the final before the regatta, I would have taken it straight away," said the young man from Schleswig-Holstein.
Schweckendiek steps up, Willim makes a strong comeback
After an outstanding qualification, Ole Schweckendiek continued to perform at a high level in the main round, but also suffered setbacks. He joked about it like a big man: "You have to be able to sit out a string like that." In Palma, meanwhile, the competitors and reporters practised pronouncing the name Schweckendiek. They now know the rising star from Germany. Nik Aaron Willim has also made a strong comeback after a two-year break from his studies. Also qualified for the medal final, Willim finished his comeback in ninth place, well above the target.
Another young up-and-comer in Palma was Formula kiter Jan Vöster from the Württemberg Yacht Club. Also only 22 years old, he made his breakthrough into the world elite last year and is now cementing this further. Vöster was able to assert himself within his strong and steely training group with Olympic fifth-placed Jannis Maus, who narrowly missed out on reaching the finals at the Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca in eleventh place. This was followed by a high and a small low, but overall another strong result.
Vöster reported after the semi-final elimination: "The quarter-final was awesome. It went perfectly. In the semi-final, I drove in a similar way and was well on the way to getting through to the next round. Then I was as good as wiped out. Unfortunately, the jury decision didn't go in my favour. I'm still super happy with my result here. Being more sure that I belong there helps me a lot. Every good result gives you more self-confidence."
I'm keen to make it to the top." Jan Vöster
As always, the German 470 duos were reliable. Although it was not quite enough for the podium places at the start of the season, there were good reasons for this. The reigning vice world champions Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort (Württembergischer Yacht-Club/VSaW/Jorsfelder Segel-Club) had only just returned to the Olympic circuit after a four-month break due to their studies. Anna Markfort rated her team's result as "solid".
Harsh conditions, eleven GER teams in the top ten
The foresailor said: "Aiming for a podium place would have been very ambitious and almost a little arrogant. Of course we are ambitious and know where we want to go. But sixth place here is a result that we're happy to take with us at this stage." Team-mates Theresa Löffler and Christopher Hoerr (Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club/Segelclub Breitbrunn Chiemsee) came seventh. The winners were the reigning Spanish world champions Jordi Xammar and Marta Cardona.
In the Ilca 6, Olympic participant Julia Büsselberg (Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee) was able to work her way up to sixth place with two second places in the medal races. The Berlin native achieved this good performance in the second largest Trofeo field of 143 dinghy sailors. Her view of the final: "I was a bit lucky in the first race, but I was also very fast. I got off to a good start in the second race and made it to the finish."
Head coach Dom Tidey, who was in charge of the team in Palma alongside DSV sports director Nadine Stegenwalner, emphasised in particular the team's "tough conditions" at the 55th Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca. "I can hardly remember it ever being so demanding here and the days on the water were so long," said the experienced Brit. He was therefore unmistakably proud of the performances of his protégés, saying: "We had eleven teams in the medal finals. That speaks for itself and gives us a good impression of where we stand with our programmes."
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
