German FX trio and Italy's ILCA-7 double leadership

Chief Race Officer Fabian Bach thus had between two and four races scheduled for the six Olympic and three international classes, as well as the offshore sailors. “Great sailing, although not on all courses, simply due to the shifting wind,” Bach summarised.

The TV cameras focused on the skiff classes, which hoisted their gennakers close to the Olympic Center – with strong results for the German crews. Last year’s U21 World Champions, Simon Heindl/Conrad Jacobs from Kiel, worked their way up to third place as the best Germans with consistently good results – including a daily win. Uruguayan’s Hernan Umpierre/Fernando Diz lead the field, ahead of the Australian team of Otto Henry/Shaun Connor.

“The wind suited us perfectly. Thanks to the trim and our weight, we’re getting a great start,” reported Simon Heindl. The helmsman is calmly anticipating the fresh to strong winds of the coming days: “Western winds! We’re really looking forward to it and have trained hard for it over the past few weeks.” The goal for Kiel Week is to reach the medal race, after narrowly missing out in 2024.

Heindl/Jacobs are tied on points with their German counterparts Jakob Meggendorfer/Andreas Spranger (Munich). The 2024 Olympic eleventh-place finishers also found their stride after a difficult first day. “The start was difficult. With the shifting winds, every mistake is severely punished,” said Jakob Meggendorfer. The top German team from the last Olympic cycle is pleased with the tough competition. “We have one of the strongest training groups, which is helping us all progress.” Participating in the 2028 Olympics is the clear goal of the two Bavarians: “After the 2024 Games, we’re really excited about the hustle and bustle and the medal ceremony. In 2028, we want to compete for medals.”

Anna Barth/Emma Kohlhoff also want to compete in this women’s skiff competition. However, the Kiel-based team currently has multiple demands to juggle. While 17-year-old crew member Emma Kohhoff has two years of high school ahead of her, Anna Barth is also involved in the professional SailGP circuit in addition to racing the 49erFX. “Things are going pretty well at the moment. I’m supported by the school administration and get time off when I need it. After graduating in 2027, we want to fully concentrate on Olympic qualification,” says Emma Kohlhoff, who has a previous commitment thanks to her brother Paul, the bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics. “I’d like to follow in his footsteps.”

Anna Barth sees her involvement in SailGP as a strong complement to her Olympic campaign: “I’m learning a lot at SailGP that I can apply to FX. And the time commitment there is manageable, so there’s hardly any overlap.” The duo will compete in Kiel Week with a new 49erFX, which was financed with the support of the Kiel YC, the State Sailing Association (SVSH), and the State Sports Association. “The boat is great, converting the power of the wind into speed faster,” says Anna Barth.

The highlights on the track during the first few days were set by the German competition, with a trio in black, red, and gold leading the way. The Olympic fifth-place finishers and newly crowned European champions Marla Bergmann/Hanna Wille (Hamburg) found themselves in first place after their late arrival on dry land, ahead of their compatriots Katharina Schwachhofer/Elena Stoltze from Lake Constance and the Bavarians Sophie Steinlein/Catherine Bartelheimer.

The audience saw five thrilling sprint slaloms at the iQFOiL Games for the “flying” windsurfers on the eastern shore of the Kiel Fjord off Stein. After missing the opening day due to a lack of breeze, the athletes worked up a sweat in light winds and air temperatures of around 30 degrees. “We had to go full throttle right from the start to stay on the foils the whole time,” reported Fabian Wolf from Kiel, who finished second, four points behind Tomasz Romanowski, with two daily victories. “If the wind is strong from Monday onwards, I’ll get the pole,” promised the 2028 Olympic hopeful. Junior Max Körner is the best U23 rider in fourth place behind Korean Gunhak Choi. The women’s field is dominated by French women, with only young talent Sophia Meyer able to break into their ranks. The Berlin native is third behind leaders Lucie Belbeoch and Marion Couturier.

The action at the top of the men’s ILCA 7 is fickle. In the tight field, hardly any starter avoids a discarded result. And the wind picking up on Sunday evening also put a damper on the fleet’s fifth race. Thus, the 148 starters completed the qualifying phase with four races. The final round is headed by an Italian double lead. Dimitri Peroni leads ahead of Lorenzo Brando Chiavarini and the American Robby Meek. The best German in fourth place is the young local hero Ole Schweckendiek. Former world champion Philipp Buhl (Sonthofen) follows in eighth place.

In the ILCA 6 women’s event, a diverse mix of nations dominates the action. After four races, Zoe Thomson (Australia) leads, ahead of Maria Erdi (Hungary) and Anna Munch (Denmark). The Germans are currently in a difficult position. Mirja Dohle (Steinhuder Meer) is ranked 17th.

In the non-Olympic disciplines of the first half of Kiel Week, the highest honors are still at stake. The young men in the ILCA 6 are battling for the world championship title. And the top ranking shows how strongly the class is represented worldwide and how fierce the battle for the global crown is. Nine nations from three continents are represented in the top ten. The leader is Ukrainian Semen Khashchyna, who already finished second at the YES Regatta in Kiel two weeks ago. Khashchyna has lived in his homeland of Croatia since the outbreak of war, touring Europe from there to regattas. Following closely behind is Hungarian Benedek Héder. There is a small points gap to third-placed Greek Stefanos Tsakos. But the large chasing pack still has three days and six races to change the situation.

For the young 29er skiff sailors, the prestige of a Eurocup victory is at stake in Kiel. And there’s no way around the Norwegians Nicklas Holt/Philip Forslund. They were already the benchmark at the YES Regatta and are now racking up victory after victory. After five of six possible daily victories, they comfortably lead the rankings ahead of two girls’ crews. Pursuing them are Lila Edwards/Amelie Hiscocks (Great Britain) and Boroka and Szonja Feher from Hungary.

A small field is battling for the European Championship title in Kiel in the L30 class. In the small keelboat, the crew led by Hungarian Csaba Medgyesi dominates the action ahead of the Ukrainian crews of Oleksandr Mukhin and Dmytro Sushchevskyi.

Text and images courtesy of Kieler Woche. Read more on the Kiel Week website.