SvenjWeger made it extremely exciting for himself and for all fans and observers: Because the Kieler Woche for the Laser-Radial helmsman with 15th place in the middle of the Corona crisis did not go according to plan, the 26-year-old went this week All or nothing at the European Championships: Whether she would qualify for the Olympi2020 in 2021 now depended on her EM placement and a number of other factors such as the performance of international opponents and the constellations among each other. In the end, SvenjWeger achieved her goal with eighth place in the European Championship. The 2014 European champion asserted herself confidently in the top ten of the 107 dinghy field. With this, the sailor from the Potsdam Yacht Club also secured the position required for Olympic qualification among the top ten nations in the addition and final accounting of the selected elimination regattas. DSV sports director Nadine Stegenwalner was happy with her about the success: "She earned it with perseverance and focused work. We are all very happy for Svenja. It is the decisive step towards the big goal of the Olympics -Sailer in the Olympic Games, it feels good to have her back on the team now."
Germany's leading laser radial helmsman SvenjWeger in Kiel
"I'm happy today and have to digest it now," said Weger in the afternoon at the EM port, when she had already received her first congratulations. The Olympic ticket means a lot to the psychology student who is studying in Kiel: "It's the reward for eight years of hard work. I clearly failed to qualify for the Olympic Games in 2016. That it works now is the fulfillment." Before the start of the European Championship, SvenjWeger knew "that I have to make a real effort". The conditions were not easy with cold autumn temperatures and complex weather scenarios. In addition, it was an important regatt for many competitors with a view to qualifying for the Olympics. SvenjWeger withstood the pressure well - and is now looking forward to her Olympic premiere. She can gain a lot from the Olympic area: "The big long waves suit me. I'm looking forward to the area." Teammate Philipp Buhl, who is already qualified for his second Olympic participation, wishes her the well-deserved boost for the Olympics: "I am really very happy for Svenja! And I wish her that she will gain a large portion of self-confidence as a result."
SvenjWeger in front of Danzig on the way to her Olympic ticket
Nice memory: In 2014 SvenjWeger won the Laser Radial European Championship
Happy with her successful EM athletes: DSV sports director Nadine Stegenwalner
Buhl himself had already messed up his European Championship freestyle at the end of a regatta year that had been greatly shortened in only three major regattas in the preliminary round with two early starts. The strict decisions of the race committee were sometimes a matter of centimeters and did not always affect everyone, but the world champion from the Allgäu twice. At the end of the qualifying round, Buhl suddenly found himself in 62nd place, which only just saved him from relegation to the silver fleet. The 30-year-old made amends in the main round, moving up to 32nd place with only one string by the final day. In the last two races, the laser helmsman finally achieved the maximum possible improvement with a victory of the day and seventh place and catapulted himself into seventh place. "That was good," he said afterwards. And he could smile again. For the top player in the German Sailing Team, the extraordinary Corona year remains a "golden" year with the World Cup title won before the outbreak of the crisis and the sixth Kieler Woche success in September. The missed European Championship podium does not change that.
In Poland, the women's title was once again won by the athletic Olympic champion Marit Bouwmeester (Netherlands), ahead of Anne-Marie Rindom (Denmark) and AgatBarwińsk (Poland). In the men's category, the British presented themselves in impressive form even without the resigned double world champion Nick Thompson and stormed the podium single-handedly: Elliot Hanson, who was nominated for the Olympic Games, secured gold in front of his compatriots Michael Beckett and Lorenzo Brandon Chiavarini.
You can find the results here.
For him, despite being seventh in the European Championship, a "golden" year is coming to an end: World Champion Philipp Buhl starts the 2020 Olympic year stronger