- Sailing duos remain strong at the Olympics
Intense heat and light winds also turned the second sailing day of the Olympics into a game of patience. The German skiff sailors managed to hold their own in the challenging conditions in Marseille Bay. While the youngest crew in the 49erFX fleet, Marla Bergmann (22) and Hanna Wille (23), were disqualified in the first race due to an early start, they still managed to secure fourth place in their Olympic debut after six races.
The 49er sailors Jakob Meggendorfer and Andreas Spranger from the Bavarian Yacht Club also secured the same position. Skipper Meggendorfer, whose crew was only nominated for the Olympics at the beginning of July by the DOSB, believes that many participants have not yet reached their peak performance due to the pressure of the Olympics. "We've set ourselves the goal from the start not to put too much pressure on ourselves, to enjoy the racing, and to savor the Olympics. That way, we can perform at our best," he said.
Light winds have so far prevented former windsurfing world champion Sebastian Kördel from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein from showing his skills. In the Olympic debut of the iQFoil fleet, only one race could be completed over two days, with the second race having to be abandoned due to insufficient wind. Kördel is currently in tenth place after two of the six competition days.
The 31-year-old said he has already experienced two lucky moments at the Olympics: "On Sunday, I started at the same time as the Frenchman Goyard. There was – naturally for him – cheering and singing from more than ten thousand people on the beach. It was a fantastic moment!" Before the first race, he also had a stroke of luck when his harness broke, but he managed to replace it in time for the start.
Kördel's clubmate Theresa Steinlein was able to compete in two races with the new Olympic iQFoil women. The 22-year-old windsurfer from Lake Wörth started strongly, placing fifth.
Despite facing intense competition, the German 49er sailors, including Jakob Meggendorfer and Andreas Spranger, managed to match the fourth-place finish of Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille from the 49erFX fleet, both crews hailing from France. Under the pressure of the Olympics, former windsurfing world champion Sebastian Kördel from Norddeutscher Regatta Verein found luck in unexpected moments, such as starting alongside a French competitor and replacing a broken harness before a race.
