After the parade of sailors with flag bearers and drummers, Schleswig-Holstein's Minister of the Interior Dr Sabine Sütterlin-Waack and Martin Lutz, Deputy Chairman of the Kiel Yacht Club, opened the 2.4mR World Championship with two bells in Kiel-Schilksee yesterday.
When the registration portal opened a few months ago, the first registrations for the World Championships were slow to trickle in. But before disappointment could set in on the part of the organisers or the athletes, the number of registrations rose to record levels. According to class president Heiko Kröger (Kieler Yacht-Club/Norddeutscher Regatta Verein), expectations were ultimately even exceeded with 90 sailors taking part in the World Championships. "It's great that there are so many of us - especially because there is no longer any funding for our class and the athletes have to bear the costs themselves," says Kröger happily. He is referring to the fact that the class has shrunk significantly since it ceased to be Paralympic (2000 to 2016) and funding has decreased accordingly.
Kiel was chosen not only because it is an ideal sailing area, but also because it is easily accessible for many nations by land or ferry, he explains. The fact that a 2.4mR regatta was once again part of the Kieler Woche at the end of June this year was a plus point for the active members of the class, as a kind of perfect unofficial dress rehearsal in the World Championship area. Normally, however, the 2.4mR sailors usually compete at Kiel Week on a regatta course relatively close to the beach. This year was different. "It was helpful that we were on a different course to familiarise ourselves with new conditions. We'll have plenty of space at the World Championships because there won't be many other regattas starting at the same time, so we'll probably be sailing in areas that are new to us," says Kröger.
Kröger on course for title defence on home turf
This also suits the 15-time Kieler Woche winner and awakens his ambition a little more. "Of course I want to win in my home waters," announces the defending champion and promptly brought two race wins to the finish line today. Kröger has already won two world championship titles in the open class, in 2001 and 2023, as well as eleven world championship gold medals in the 2.4mR Para World Championship. In addition to many other successes, he has also won Paralympic gold (Sydney/2000) and silver (London/2012). At Kiel Week 2024, he won by a clear margin ahead of para-sailor Megan Pascoe - an extremely successful dress rehearsal for the World Championships.
"We've been battling it out for almost 20 years, sometimes Heiko is ahead, sometimes I am," said Pascoe with a grin. The Brit has been familiar with the Strander Bucht area for around ten years and praises it as a good venue. Alongside her, the Italians Davide di Maria and Antonio Squizzato, the Finn Marco Dahlberg and, from a German perspective, Christoph Trömer (Plauer Hai-Live e.V.) are among the favourites for the races off Schilksee. As a dress rehearsal for the World Championship races, the athletes took part in a practice race in the regatta area yesterday, giving them a foretaste of the races that are scheduled until Saturday.
2.4mR off Kiel: Para and Open World Championships in one event for the first time
The 4.18 metre long 2.4mR one-man keelboat is considered complex to handle even for experienced regatta sailors, but is nevertheless extremely inclusive, as all the controls on the 2.4mR are easy to reach. The boat is steered either with the hands or feet. The weight of the active person is close to the centre of gravity, which is why size and fitness have little influence on the speed of the boat. It is not age, physical strength or gender that counts, but the sailing skills of the participants. This is also the reason why Pascoe describes the boat as extremely female-friendly. All boats in the 2.4mR class are permitted to take part in the Open World Championship off Kiel-Schilksee, and all boats in the 2.4 NOD class (Norlin One Design) are permitted to take part in the Para World Championship.
If you want to sail in the Para World Championship, you not only have to have your equipment measured in the preliminary race, but also for classification. At the 2.4mR World Championships 2024, Dr Jürgen Schwittai will take care of this in accordance with World Sailing's specifications. "Ideally, the athletes bring medical documents with them to the classification, which show the impairment. This involves restrictions in strength, coordination and joint mobility. I look at the person, ask where the problems are and, if necessary, carry out functional tests to determine the categorisation. A table is used to award points that show the degree of restriction. At the World Championships, the only thing that counts is whether the impairment is severe enough to compete in the Para classification," explains the doctor. The purpose of the "Para World Sailing Classification System" is to measure the abilities of the sailors in order to ensure a fair and equitable para-competition.
