Anna Barth and Emma Kohlhoff are going full throttle in sailing. Whether as a strategist and new team member in the SailGP or as a well-rehearsed 49erFX crew in the Olympic skiff: the two young sailors from the Kiel Yacht Club are committed to their careers and Olympic goals.
Barth and Kohlhoff: Olympic Games in LA28 in their sights
The 21-year-old helmswoman Anna Barth has been a professional since Team Germany entered the SailGP 2023. As a strategist, she is fighting for promotion for Black-Red-Gold in the fast-paced World League alongside helmsman Erik Kosegarten-Heil, now in the German racing team's third season, which has just begun. Her 19-year-old foresailor Emma Kohlhoff, sister of Olympic Nacra 17 bronze medallist Paul Kohlhoff, is still at school. Together, Anna and Emma are perspective squad national sailors in the German Sailing Team and have their sights set on the Olympic Games in LA28.
They are currently utilising the four-week window in Sydney between the SailGP season opener in Fremantle in mid-January and the second SailGP event of the season in Auckland on 14/15 February to broaden their horizons in the Olympic 49erFX. The two perspective squad sailors from the German Sailing Team seized the opportunity to train with the Australian national team. They had raised financial support for this with the help of crowd-funding.
At the end of January, the young women were already SailGP-powerplay at the Fremantle Doctor in Sydney. Emma Kohlhoff is also a member of the Germany SailGP Team as a young talent. After landing in the Olympic metropolis of the turn of the millennium, three weeks of intensive training with Australia's best female skiff sailors, who are currently still racing, awaited her. Emma Kohlhoff already knew after the first day: "The conditions here are challenging, but very cool."
With sharks and a hunger for performance: "really good training" in the Australian swell
Anna Barth reported two days later: "We had a few great days with sea breezes and were able to work well on our boat handling. As soon as we leave the harbour, there's a lot of swell. We don't have waves like that at home. That's really good training. There have been an unusually high number of shark attacks around Sydney this week. We haven't seen any so far and are very confident with our 49er - our boat is the bigger beast:"
After just one week, the sailors knew that their efforts in the battle for exclusive training had paid off. Anna Barth reported a "very good week of training with different wind conditions, good sessions and analyses and lots of lessons learned". "We also actually saw a shark on the water today, but it left us in peace."
Down Under, the 2024 U21 world champions are currently able to do what is often only possible to a limited extent at home: because Emma is still at school, full training days are rarely possible. At the Australian training camp, however, long days on the water plus extensive briefings and debriefings on land are the daily programme. Anna Barth also sees slight differences in the training content when comparing the Australians and the home team: "We have the feeling that the Australians train at a slightly higher intensity. We are usually on the water for three hours or more and start the sessions with intensive warm-ups."
For the Olympic qualifiers: becoming one with the boat, wind and waves
Anna Barth said about the other training content: "Afterwards, we either train certain skills on a course with buoys or head out of the harbour to train in the off-shore conditions in the waves. What's really interesting is that the Australian trainer talks to us on a radio, which we definitely take home with us." Another difference to Germany is the strong sun and heat. "For us northern Germans who came from the snow, it was quite a change."
By the halfway point, Anna and Emma were already feeling energised by the training in Australia and taking a lot of inspiration home with them. "The training here is helping us to progress, especially in combination with the swell, which is coming a little further south than the wind. During the afternoon, a wind wave from the east builds up above it. Our aim is to sail the boat as straight as possible. That's quite challenging with waves coming from different directions."
The goal is clear: if you manage it well, i.e. if we become a harmonious unit with the boat, the wind and the waves, then it's a gigantic feeling." Anna Barth
Anna and Emma decided to take part in the special training programme in Sydney for good reasons. Anna explains: "Training with ocean waves is particularly relevant for us with a view to the future - the European Championships are due to take place in Cádiz in 2027 and the World Championships in Morocco in 2028. Both events will probably be part of our Olympic qualification. And these areas are known for decent swell."
Strong German 49erFX national squad for the 2028 Olympics
With Sophie Steinlein and Catherine Bartelheimer (NRV/BYC/SCIA), who finished fifth at the World Championships and are Olympic squad sailors, Marla Bergmann/Hanna Wille (MSC), who finished sixth at the Olympics, Women's America's Cup helmswoman Maru Scheel and Freya Feilcke (KYC) and Katharina Schwachhofer/Elena Stoltz (WYC/SKL), Anna Barth and Emma Kohlhoff form a promising 49erFX national squad on course LA28. All five women's crews are fighting for their Olympic dream, which only one duo will be able to realise in two and a half years.
