Pull of the helm too strong to ignore

For all Olympic sailors, winning a medal at a summer Games is the pinnacle of the sport and what everyone strives to achieve. To stand on the podium with a medal around your neck can give you that feeling that you want to do go through the emotional journey all again, and maybe even strive for more.

As Austria’s Tanja Frank stood on the Rio 2016 podium after claiming bronze as crew in the Nacra 17, she knew that she wanted that feeling again, but this time as a helm. When the opportunity arose to take control of the 49erFX, Frank knew she had to go for it.
 
“The draw to helm was just too much,” explained Frank, “I never saw myself as a crew as I’m not that big and strong, I mean I improved a lot and I was very proud of myself for what I achieved, but now because of that I think I can do the same helming.”
 
Reminiscing about her time in the multihull, and that Olympic medal, Frank said, “It’s still not possible to describe. Sometimes when I see the pictures I think, ‘Wow, did that actually happen?’
 
“I had a great four years in the Nacra and it was super cool, especially sailing with a boy,” Frank stops and corrects herself with a laugh, “sorry, I mean a man! It was a good experience. Fast. Flying a bit. We had some good times and some not so good, but it was great to get a medal at the Games.”
 
The boy/man that Frank sailed with to bronze was Thomas Zajac, and although the partnership proved successful, there is no ill feeling from Zajac when the two parted ways, “He’s not upset with me. Not at all. He knew I was only crewing for him and wanted to go back to helming, so he totally understood my decision.”
 
Moving classes and to the helm meant Frank had to look for a crew of her own, but as fate would have it, she wouldn’t have to look far as long-time friend Lorena Abicht stepped in.
 
Talking about her relationship with Abicht, Frank said, “Our grandparents knew each other. Our parents knew each other. Our mothers went to school together. Lorena moved to Germany when she was young but we still had family holidays together. We have known each other basically since we were born.”
 
Stepping in to the boat with someone you already know and trust can be a positive as the relationship is already there, but although the bond may be, the new boat skills aren’t, “Other teams have been sailing for like four years already and we have just started. Right now we are making a lot of mistakes that others don’t, but if we sail right I think we can do good things in the fleet.”
 
Frank portrays herself as a calm but determined person when you get time to sit down and talk to her. She knows exactly what she wants from sailing. She wants to be helm and she wants to be a successful one at that. Rio 2016 was maybe a little unexpected for Frank to come away with a medal, but that has clearly given her an added drive. Quite ominously for the rest of the fleet, and almost as a warning to her competitors she signs off saying, “We have been sailing for only two months, so give us two years and we will improve a lot.”
 
Frank and Abicht currently sit in tenth position after day two of racing at the World Cup Series Miami at Regatta Park, Coconut Grove.

Information on how to follow the event is below:

RESULTS / ENTRIES
A full list of sailors registered to sail in Miami is available to view here – http://manage2sail.com/en-US/eventonly/f61c409e-4fad-49a6-baa6-f9287b804645/style/worldcup#!/entries?classId=e2d355cc-1d5b-4dfb-b6b9-58c9d28c0cfa  
Results will be available from Tuesday 24 January via the Manage2Sail results centre here – http://manage2sail.com/en-US/eventonly/f61c409e-4fad-49a6-baa6-f9287b804645/style/worldcup#!/results?classId=e2d355cc-1d5b-4dfb-b6b9-58c9d28c0cfa

TRACKING
Live tracking and competitor’s analytics will be available via SAP Sailing Analytics throughout the event here – https://swc2017-miami.sapsailing.com/gwt/Home.html#/event/:eventId=b82f9012-47d8-4e9e-b3b2-a690c1db0fe3

PRESS RELEASES
World Sailing will be releasing international press releases after racing throughout the duration of World Cup Miami. All the latest news and reports will be available to read here – http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/news/index.php

TELEVISION
Medal Races on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 January will be streamed live on World Sailing’s Facebook and YouTube Channel.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow the event on World Sailing’s social networks and get involved in the conversation using #SWCMiami17
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ISAFWorldSailing
Instagram – https://instagram.com/isafworldsailing/
Twitter – @worldsailing
Snapchat – Follow our Story on Snapchat, search for worldsailing

SAILING WORLD CUP
The Sailing World Cup is a World-class, annual series of Olympic sailing for elite and professional sailors. Over 2,000 of the World’s leading sailors, representing over 75 nations have competed in the Sailing World Cup which offers a definitive guide to the best-of-the-best in the Olympic sailing world.