It sounds like the logical consequence of his previous experience and achievements: Three-time Olympian Paul Kohlhoff will be part of the Germany SailGP Team by Deutsche Bank. His new team announced the news on 26 June - a nice present for the Kiel native on his 30th birthday. With him, the German racing team continues to grow.
I'm delighted to have the chance to support the team. No matter where, I won't be too bad for anything." Paul Kohlhoff
Paul Kohlhoff said of his prospects in the team: "The team will decide which role I am most valuable in. I am grateful to be part of it and to be able to help. I will do everything I can to contribute to the team's success. I'm really looking forward to being a small cog in the big engine."
The SailGP is calling: Cat foiler in demand
With top athlete Paul Kohlhoff from Kiel, the crew has gained an experienced high-performance sailor with Olympic medals and plenty of foiling expertise. The former Nacra 17 helmsman has already started working for the German SailGP racing team.
The bronze medallist at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games, where German SailGP helmsman Erik Kosegarten-Heil and his former co-skipper Thomas Plößel also won their second bronze medal, brings his experience from all evolutionary stages of the Olympic Nacra 17 class as well as more than a decade of expertise in high-performance sailing to the up-and-coming German SailGP team.
For Paul Kohlhoff, joining the international racing series is the fulfilment of a long-held dream. "I've been following the SailGP since day one, dreaming of being a part of it since day one. SailGP was always a goal that seemed far away - a childhood dream. To actually be part of the team now is a huge privilege," he said on joining. "We are always open and interested in bringing talent into the team. Now we've managed to do that with Paul. We are very happy about that," said Team Germany's Flensburg SailGP coach Lennart Briesenick.
Team player in the SailGP: one for all - and everything
There is still no precisely defined position for the experienced twin-hull foiler - either on board or ashore. He himself describes his operational radius as "flexible and team-orientated", saying: "I won't be on board for regattas in the foreseeable future, but I will be involved in training. I won't be too bad for anything in the team." The man who so happily celebrated his Nacra bronze medal with Alica Stuhlemmer in Enoshima in 2021 is now pursuing new goals and sees himself as a "Swiss army knife" with a mission to make the team better on various levels.
"After years of self-optimisation in the Olympic field, my team focus is now clearly on making others better," explains Kohlhoff. "I get involved wherever I'm needed - be it on the water, analysing data or approaching potential partners." Thanks to his experience in the flying catamaran Nacra 17, on which everything is operated manually in Olympic two-handed mode, Kohlhoff believes he is well placed to understand the complex, predominantly technically controlled F50 projectiles in the SailGP.
SailGP is the dream of every Nacra sailor who has completely mastered the Nacra: Suddenly you can have everything you always wanted in the Nacra at the touch of a button." Paul Kohlhoff
Paul Kohlhoff has also long been well connected with the international SailGP players. Chris Draper, wing trimmer of the Australian team, is a friend and mentor to him. "What particularly fascinates me about the SailGP is the data-driven approach. Here, performance is measurable, comparable - and transparent. The league shows what the sailing sport of the future could look like." Kohlhoff also knows the German team's Italian opponents very well, for example: he has fought thrilling Olympic duels with two-time Nacra 17 Olympic champion and SailGP helmsman Ruggero Tita.
Kohlhoff was born in Bremen and grew up in Kiel. He is one of the most successful German Olympic sailors of his generation. As a multiple junior world champion and initiator of the German team in the Red Bull Youth America's Cup 2017, the married father of two proved early on that he can take on responsibility and tackle and realise projects. He was also "ignited" for high-tech sailing at the highest level during an internship lasting several months with the America's Cup team Artemis 2017.
New in the SailGP: Kohlhoff, the fighter
Equally well-known is the darkest chapter in Paul Kohlhoff's life, when he had to survive a life-threatening operation in 2017 following a brain haemorrhage and then fought his way back to life and then successfully back into competitive sport. It was the race of his life on land. He sees the fact that he has now arrived in the Sail Grand Prix as the result of perseverance and his motto "Keep going, keep going".
Paul Kohlhoff strikes a balance between ambition and calm in order to stay focussed and continue to develop: "don't fall too low and don't fly too high". This is similar to what a speeding F50 racer on foils should not do in the SailGP.
Kohlhoff will be on site at the next event in Portsmouth, England, on 19 and 20 July and will take part in all training sessions both on land and on the water. The team will then set course for its first major home event in Sassnitz on the island of Rügen on 16 and 17 August, where Erik Heil and his team would like to shine.
The clip is a little older, but a good introduction to what is soon to come: the historic first SailGP in Sassnitz on the island of Rügen. Sebastian Vettel also wants to be there:
