Targeted top ten: Hagen / Wolfram in the star boat
Alexander Hagen from Hamburg and his crew Jochen Wolfram (Damme) settle in the lower half of the Starboat fleet. At the top, the Brazilians are further ahead, a head-to-head race has broken out for silver.
After this race, Hagen / Wolfram could have been five places better in the overall classification. After the starting cross they were ninth, but sailed up the downwind gear to fifth and also defended it on the following cross. Then it only went backwards. At the finish Patz eleven.
As a half-time result, Hagen said: "We had meanwhile fifth places in almost all races. If we had kept that, we would be right at the front." That that didn't work is mainly due to a weakness of the team against the wind. "It's not the speed, but we've often hit the wrong side. I don't know why either."
At the top, the Brazilians Grael / Ferreirm moved further away with a fifth place. The European champions from 2003 and second in the 2002 World Cup lead with 7.2 points ahead of the Canadians MacDonald / Wolfs, who, interestingly, are looked after by Marc Pickel from Kiel. Pickel actually already had the Olympic ticket for Germany in his pocket, but his Olympic status was revoked again after he separated from his crew member Tony Kolb. Pickel had also bought the nation ticket for Germany at this year's World Cup. Only with a fourth place at the European Championships, Alexander Hagen then decided the inner-German fight for himself.
The fact that the 49-year-old from Hamburg does not sail better off Athens is also the result of a lack of a supervisor. "We assumed that Michael Ilgenstein, with whom we had trained, would also be available during the games. But allegedly he could no longer be accredited. So we have to do everything on our own. With the Canadians, on the other hand, we see like Marc Pickel gets the boat ready in the morning, so all they have to do is come and sail."
The goal for the next five races is to achieve an overall placement in the top ten. Hagen: "The star class brings together the best of the best. I am proud to be able to sail against these superstars."
For Hagen these are probably the last games. After the Olympics, he wanted more kite surfing again, Jochen Wolfram wanted to sail in the maxi scene and devote himself more to his equipment service.
A German America's Cup project that made headlines in the past few days would, however, be "a kick that would be worth starting over," said Hagen. He could imagine a role as a tactician.
The battle for bronze is currently very close. America's Cup superstar Paul Cayard is in third place with 26 points, but only three points separate him from seventh place.