Ice sailing: The ice sailing king is back - Jablonski victory in the USA

American Matt Struble was the favourite for the title at this year's North American Ice Sailing Championship. And with him, other top US players from the international DN scene were hungry for the title. But that also applied to Karol Jablonski. The top sailor, who grew up in Poland, emigrated to Germany in 1986 and now lives in Poland again, returned as champion on the ice with a formidable performance.

US Ice Sailing Championship: bitterly cold territory

Green Lake in Wisconsin in the north of the USA is one of the home grounds of the best US sailors on runners. 52 starters from six countries competed in the US area two weeks before the World and European Championships, which are expected to take place in Poland. The ice sailing competition took place in extreme conditions with temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees.

Seven races were held. One result was cancelled by the DN helmsmen. The 12-time world champion Karol Jablonski had started the series well with third and second place before a sixth place set him back slightly, which he was able to take out of the rankings as the series progressed and immediately compensate for with a second place when Matt Struble took a sixth place at the same time.

As the most successful ice sailor in the history of his sport, Jablonski is still going strong at the age of 63. He had his first encounter with ice sailing as a 14-year-old teenager. Half a century has now passed. In 1993, he won the Admirals Cup with the German team and was successful as the helmsman of well-known yachts such as "Container", "Pinta" and "Thomas-i-Punkt". In the 32nd America's Cup, he successfully sailed with the Spanish team Desafío Espanõl to the semi-finals of the challenger round.

Jablonski is a champion in many disciplines

Karol Jablonski skippered maxi yachts such as "Y3K", "Saudade" and "Hetairos", won Match Race Germany 2016 and was one of the top players in international duelling sailing for a long time. Between 1994 and 2004, Jablonski took six victories in the championship of champions for Germany's best sailors from all classes - more than any other participant in the 45-year history of the national championship summit. He showed his talent mostly on the water, but also repeatedly on ice.

The North American Championship was decided in the last three races on the final day. Legend Jablonski turned up the heat and showed perfect form in powerful winds at the "Ice House" in Wisconsin. His report: "After two days of intense competition, I was in third place, just a few points behind the leaders. It was clear that the last day would be decisive. I coped well with the rigours of many hours on the ice in extreme cold, even though I had never sailed in such conditions before."

The last three races were held in strong winds on very hard ice, which favoured extremely fast sailing. The ice experts know: These are the "typical American" conditions in which the local sailors have dominated for years. Accordingly, defending champion Matt Struble went into the final phase of the regatta as the favourite. But Karol Jablonski put up a fight.

Gold for Jablonski ahead of five Americans

"Despite everything, I was convinced that I could keep up with the Americans. I sailed very fast and tactically clever. That led to 3rd, 2nd and 1st place - and ultimately to victory in this very prestigious championship," said Karol Jablonski happily after the final battle. Matt Struble took silver, while his compatriot Ron Sherry won bronze. Both are multiple world champions. The German DN athletes Jost Kolb and Bernd Zeiger sailed to 11th and 18th place on ice. Click here for the results.

Jabłonski's triumph in DN ice sailing in America is of particular sporting significance because he was able to successfully counter the special ice and wind conditions as well as the home advantage of the Americans. The joy of the all-time champion of the International DN Ice Yacht Racing Association (IDNIYRA) was correspondingly great.

It is an extraordinary success, especially under such conditions and considering my age..." Karol Jablonski

The tactician and tinkerer was jubilant for many reasons and said: "But what I'm most pleased about is that I've regained my speed and coped very well with the strain of the competition." According to Jablonski, depending on the ice, the World and European Ice Sailing Championships are still on the programme in February. Jablonski explained: "They will most likely take place in Poland." Will the champion be able to use the longed-for home match to win his legendary 13th world title?