The five Kieler Woche victories in the Olympic classes that the German Sailing Team was able to achieve last year at the Kieler Woche remain unattainable this year. However, a positive trend is responsible for this: The international participation has increased significantly again in some classes at the Kieler Woche. The upward trend after a few years is good for the competition.
And the German Sailing Team will not start the final day of the 123rd Kiel Week on Sunday without any hopes. After all, 17 German teams qualified in eight Olympic disciplines for the final medal races of the Kiel Week. But only a few have a chance of victory. One of the hopes is laser helmsman and defending champion Philipp Buhl from Sonthofen. The 27-year-old four-time Kieler Woche winner starts the medal final in second place, just four points behind the leading Estonian Karl-Martin Rammo. "That means a realistic chance of victory, even if it won't be easy," said Buhl.
What's going on in the final for Philipp Buhl tomorrow? The four-time Kieler Woche winner has to catch up four points if he wants to fight for title number five
In the 49erFX, the defending champions TinLutz (Bergen) and Susann Beucke (Strande) only have theoretical chances of winning the Kieler Woche gold, but they can also win a medal, like the sixth Berlin Olympic ninths VictoriJurczok and AnikLorenz. In the 49er, the Rio bronze winners Erik Heil and Thomas Plößel can no longer win after their mast break on Saturday, but they can still sail on the podium. Jan Hauke Erichsen and Ann Kristin Wedemeyer from Flensburg have won a medal in the Olympic mixed catamaran Nacr17. You start second in the medal race, but you would have to put two teams between you and the Austrian Nacra-17 bronze medalist Thomas Zajac and his new crew member BarbarMatz if you want to win the Kiel Week.
The 49er defending champions TinLutz and Susann Beucke had bad luck on Saturday, but are sailing for a Kieler Woche medal on Sunday
In the 470, Frederike Loewe and AnnMarkfort are only four points behind the Polish leaders AgnieszkSkrzypulec and IrminMrózek and thus also kept their chances of winning the Kieler Woche. With the 470 men, the Australian Olympic champions Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan can hardly be taken away from victory. Simon Diesch and Philipp Autenrieth will fight for silver and bronze with the Poles Pavel Sozykin and Denis Gribanov. Malte Winkel and Matti Cipr, who are fifth, still have a chance to win a medal.
Frederike Loewe and AnnMarkfort will fight for the Kieler Woche victory on Sunday in the 470
At the Para World Championships, Heiko Kröger (Waldbröl) is the front runner on the gold course in the 2.4mR. Jens Kroker from the North German Regatt Club in Hamburg also has a medal in his sights as third. The Kiel Week ends on Sunday with the medal races that start at 10 a.m.
The former sonar helmsman and Paralympics winner Jens Kroker sails in the top group straight away in the new Hans303 at the Kieler Woche
The sailors were busy overnight. On Friday evening, race director Ralf Paulsen sent 24 yachts from the Kiel inner fjord on the 130 nautical mile course through the Vendbord Sound and back to the Kiel lighthouse. After 15 hours, 38 minutes and ten seconds, the "HaspHamburg" crossed the finish line as the fastest yacht with Fabian Bläsi (Wedel-Schulau) at the helm. Calculated the "Bajazzo" by Sven Zoller (Elmshorn) won in ORC I, the "Halbtrocken 4.0" by Michael Berghorn (Kiel, ORC II), the "One Group" by Niels Gauter (Hamburg, ORC III) and the "Ballerin2 "from Berend Beilken (Hamburg, ORV IV) the trophies.
After the start, Ralf Paulsen went to Denmark himself to time the boats at the exit of Svendborg Sound. Between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. he was able to register all of his sheep that were still on the move. Meanwhile, a well-rested crew from the race committee sat on the Kiel lighthouse to record the target times of the yachts. It was a long day on the tower because it took around seven hours for all the crews to pass the line.
You can find the results here
The winners of the "Silver Ribbon" in ORC II: the "Halbtrocken 4.0" team