Host Timm Kruse opens the episode with an emotional review of the Flagship Night at boot Düsseldorf. There the Briton Craig Wood honoured as a Seamasterwho sailed across the Pacific alone with enormous determination after a serious military accident. Jens Kroker gave the laudatory speech. His words emphasised what sailing can achieve: It confronts people with limits and at the same time shows them how they can grow beyond them.
Every person has individual talents
Jens Kroker, who has now been sailing for over 40 years, was born with only one hand. He realised early on what it means to feel different. In the podcast, he talks openly about doubts, marginalisation and the pressure of often having to achieve more than others. But he contradicts a deficit view: Instead of disability, he talks about "different ability". Every person has their own talents - the decisive factor is trust in one's own abilities, as Kroker explains in the podcast.
Sailing became a turning point for him. Team spirit, technique, tactics and mental strength count on the water - not physical standards. The sport gave him self-confidence and a sense of participation. This experience still characterises him today, which he discusses in the 61st episode of the sailing podcast. In 2008, he competed for the first time at the Paralympic Games in Beijing. The sailor also shares his perspective on the exclusion of sailing from the Paralympic programme.
Sailing as a school for life
With his TURNING POINT foundation, Jens Kroker wants to pass on precisely this feeling of self-confidence and participation. Sailing projects open up new perspectives for children, young people and socially disadvantaged people. He describes sailing as a "mini life". Find out exactly what our expert means by this and to what extent the Paralympic athlete is still sailing today directly from him.
Here you can listen to the YACHT sailing podcast with Jens Kroker
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Leonie Meyer
Editor News & Panorama
