As a strategist with Team Germany, Anna Barth, aged 21, is one of the youngest athletes competing in the ‘Formula 1 of sailing’ alongside the world’s best. Nevertheless, she has already come a long way – both in F50 racing and in Olympic sailing, where she is a prospective squad sailor under the umbrella of the German Sailing Association along with her even younger bowman, Emma Kohlhoff, who is just 18 years old is working her way up the ranks in the women’s 49erFX Olympic skiff class.
The sister of Paul Kohlhoff, who took bronze in the Nacra class at the Olympics, is not due to take her A-levels until next spring. Anna Barth shares a passion for Olympic skiff sailing with SailGP sailor Erik Kosegarten-Heil. The co-founder of the German SailGP team won two Olympic bronze medals in the 49er class – in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and in Enoshima in 2021. In the second part of the interview – Click here for part one – Anna Barth talks about the challenges she faces as a sailor and the women in SailGP, the league's progress and the fan frenzy in Sassnitz.
SailGP and the Olympics: one athlete, two worlds
Anna, are you at a happy stage in your life right now?
Yes, especially now during the European leg of the SailGP. Before that, it was quite a lot at times over the last few months with the US tour, including Bermuda, New York and Halifax. Plus Rio. That meant four trips back and forth across the Atlantic, and almost every time I’d head straight into 49erFX sailing afterwards. It was pretty intense.
Both of your sailing venues – SailGP And the Olympics – do they still appeal to you just as much?
Yes. There’s also a lot of development on both sides. In SailGP, the training sessions at the new long-term training centre in Pensacola present a huge opportunity. That’s really exciting. But on the other hand, the travelling and time differences in SailGP will increase even further next year. We’ll have to see how well it all fits together going forward. But I’ve already learnt an absolute load and gained so much from the experience. Looking back so far, I’d say: I’d do it all exactly the same way again. With Emma’s A-levels coming up next year, we’re also a bit more tied down for the time being.
What are your thoughts on what comes next?
That’s not easy to say. I’ve got SailGP and Olympic sailing. It’s brilliant that I’m already so involved in SailGP. At the same time, I want to pursue the Olympic route and be successful there too. When I look at someone like Georgia Lewin-LaFrance, who was also in the Canadian SailGP team and then initially opted for Olympic 49erFX sailing and is now racking up a few medals… When she comes back, every door will probably be open to her, including opportunities where she can develop into other roles. I haven’t made up my mind yet. I don’t think I could sail exclusively at Olympic level in the long term. I think I’d completely burn myself out. But I’m very attached to Olympic skiff sailing. And to the German SailGP team here, too.
Anna Barth’s sailing career: from the Optimist and 29er to the Olympic skiff and competitive racing
Antonia and Georgia Lewin-LaFrance are an interesting example. They are coached by Thomas Berg, who was once also Erik’s coach Kosegarten-Heil and Thomas Plößel …when, in 2016, they won the first of their two Olympic bronze medals in Rio de Janeiro…
Thomas was also, in a way, the one who helped set my career on its course. After 2016, he’d decided to join the regional association here in Schleswig-Holstein and, with his family and kids, take things a bit easier for a while. That’s when he started working with the Optimist kids. At the time, I was still sailing Optimists. He’d already noticed me back then. Then I moved on to the 29er and switched to Kiel, because there were no facilities for the 29er in Hamburg at the time. That meant he was able to bring me into the squad here in Schleswig-Holstein. He then coached me for a few years and later also supported my transition from the 29er to the 49erFX.
"I don’t think I’d be where I am today without Thomas." Anna Barth
… as a professional sailor during the ascent in the SailGP and in Olympic sailing…
Yes. But it’s still quite a big decision to commit 100 per cent to a career as a professional sailor. Because it’s a particular lifestyle that isn’t going to change much from here on, and ultimately leads to the coach’s bench or something similar. That’s part of it too. I find it really fascinating that Erik has a second string to his bow in medicine. That’s good for your peace of mind. But there are others who aren’t so keen on that. They’re better off focusing one hundred per cent on the sport. I can also imagine going back to university myself. I’ve had a place to study medicine for three years now, but I’ve put it on hold. I’ve still got some time to make up my mind about that.
You’ve been working with Victoria Schultheis in Germany since this year SailGPTeam: a second female sailor by your side…
It’s definitely really cool to have Victoria on board. It also gives me greater confidence within the team. She’s a really great person and has a good perspective on things.
The women in SailGP: “It’s all about determination and input”
Could you take turns racing in future as well?
We’ll see how it goes. Making the switch isn’t always easy. I did that in my first season with Sophie (Ed.: 49erFX helmswoman Sophie Steinlein), but because you have so little time on the boat anyway, it wasn’t easy. Ultimately, in SailGP, it will always be about what’s best for the team.
What is your overall view of the women in the SailGP. Do you see any progress, particularly given that the British strategist and double Olympic champion Hannah Mills will be leading her own team in the league next year?
I see it as very much down to the individual. I believe that someone like Hannah Mills is the right person for the job. She also has experience from the America’s Cup. She’s also so self-assured that, on the boat and with a solid team around her, she can get to grips with it. But ultimately, everyone is responsible for deciding which path they want to take. In the long run, the people who are best at sailing should be the ones on the boats. If some of them are girls, that’s cool, of course. But I don’t think it would be right to introduce even more quotas. After all, women are no longer at a physical disadvantage in our sport. It’s more about the determination and the drive to push yourself to get there.
The SailGP You know it well by now. If you could write a wish list for the league, what would be on it?
SailGP is very much shaped by Russell Coutts and his ideas. Of course: he had the vision and, with Larry Ellison’s help, has successfully brought it to fruition. As one of the best sailors, he is now making a completely new format a success with SailGP. That’s great for the sport of sailing, too. However, it would probably do SailGP good if there were a few more strong voices involved in some of the decision-making areas. Take New York, for example: the committee had decided that the smaller wing should be used. Then Russell looked at the forecast and said: ‘No, we’ll use the medium wing.’ The next day, the crane weight limit for the medium wing wasn’t met, so we didn’t sail.
I think it would be good if responsibility were spread out a bit more in certain areas and greater emphasis were placed on the sailors’ safety. It does sometimes feel as though we’re a bit like guinea pigs. There are now 13 boats and we’ve carried on sailing with a full fleet for the time being. All in a single line! There was one collision after another. It took half a year before the split fleet was introduced.
Why a split fleet makes sense in SailGP
Do you enjoy sailing in the split, and therefore smaller, fleets?
I think that’s pretty much spot on. Because it makes for a more tactical and strategic race. It’s no longer the case that the first two are off the mark and there’s a free-for-all behind them. Now it’s much more a case of us having to sail around the marks. With 13 boats on the course, it was almost impossible to find clear lanes. Splitting the fleet makes sense, particularly on short and small courses, and it’s also sensible from a safety perspective. And it’s actually quite cool that races are taking place all the time, because there are hardly any breaks.
If you’re looking at the top four for Sassnitz If you were to pick some teams, which ones would they be?
I’d back us, of course. I’d probably always do that. I can imagine the New Zealanders will be back. The Spanish are really on a roll at the moment and are sailing really solidly too. Perhaps another underdog team will join them? As for the Canadians, I can imagine they might be able to capitalise on their good performance at the Portsmouth event to get back to the front.
Is this the final for you?
That’s always the aim. It would be absolutely brilliant to reach the final in front of this crowd.
Will it help you to know that last year in Sassnitz Have you been in good form and kicked off your strong run in European competition with that home fixture, which then culminated in victory on Lake Geneva? Or will there be a touch of nervousness in the air?
I don’t think Erik even knows what ‘nervous’ means. But of course there’s a bit of pressure on. We’re just keen to sail well. And we’ll have plenty of tailwind!
How do you perceive that?
It’s simply the atmosphere in Sassnitz that was so lovely and that we’re really looking forward to now. It’s also great that we’re out in the countryside in Sassnitz rather than in a big city. Everyone who’s there is there for SailGP and knows what it’s all about. Of course, people have heard of it in other cities too, but it tends to get lost in the crowd there.
"There’s a real buzz in Sassnitz." Anna Barth
And can you hear the cheering fans out on the water?
It depends a bit on the conditions. There’s about a 70 per cent chance that we’ll have offshore winds again for SailGP. That means: keep your eyes peeled and sail the shifts. We’re quite good at that, too. And the offshore wind means you can hear the crowd a bit on the water too. That was the case last year as well, especially when we won the first race. It was really incredible how much the ground was shaking there, even though we do have the in-ear headphones in our ears for communication on board. It was absolutely brilliant.
Many sailors are superstitious. Do you also use a personal lucky charm when competing in SailGP and in the 49erFX?
I have a necklace from my mum with an old Greek coin as a pendant. It features a dolphin with Poseidon’s son, Taras, riding on its back. It’s always with me.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter