1000 SSL points for the Kieler Woche

The winners of the Olympic Classes will earn 1000 SSL points at the third Sailing Grand Slam event, held during Kieler Woche in Kiel. The SSL Ranking will be updated on Monday evening following the conclusion of the event.

A clean sweep of the 470 podium without a final and a narrow bronze medal in the 49erFX for Sophie Steinlein and Catherine Bartelheimer of NRV Hamburg – these were the biggest successes for the German Sailing Federation in the Olympic portion of Kiel Week. A widespread lack of wind on Wednesday (June 24) allowed only four of the twelve planned medal races to take place. This also deprived ILCA 7 aces Ole Schweckendiek (Kiel) and Philipp Buhl (Sonthofen), who finished fourth and fifth respectively, of the chance to reach the podium of the Sailing Grand Slam. The five other gold medals went to Switzerland (49er), Canada (49erFX), Italy (ILCA 7), Denmark (ILCA 6), and Great Britain in the Nacra 17.

A nerve-wracking game of patience finally came to an end on the final day, first for the 49erFX women, who had been the only class to complete races on the opening day. In the two thrilling medal races, positions changed every second. In the end, champagne poured from a neoprene sock for the overall winners, Georgia and Antonia Lewin-Lafrance from Canada. "We love Kiel Week with its excellent German organization," the crew member said, expressing her gratitude immediately after crossing the finish line.

After Helen Pais and Helen Ausman from Estonia secured silver, the race became dramatic. Behind the day's winners, Steinlein/Bartelheimer, Johanne and Andrea Schmidt from Denmark fought their way to fourth place. A tie! But what decides the outcome? According to Appendix A 8.1 of the racing rules, first place compared to fourth. Steinlein, who lives on Lake Garda, celebrated with her crewmate from Kiel and the Olympic sixth-place finishers Marla Bergmann/Hanna Wille (Hamburg/Kiel), the best crew in the final, who unfortunately only managed sixth place.

The men's single sculls race was a closer affair. Swiss sailors Joshua Richner and Nilo Schärer edged out the Israeli crew of Illy Wureit and Yuval Barnoon. "The final was incredibly tense mentally, but we stayed focused and concentrated on ourselves," said Nilo Schärer. "We're obviously thrilled that we still managed to win gold." The Swiss are less enthusiastic about the new Olympic format, even though it worked out well for them. Bronze went to Nevin Snow and Ian Macdiarmid from the USA. Richard Schultheis, who lives in Malta, and his Kiel-based crewman Fabian Rieger had no chance of a medal after the first race (7th place) and finished Kiel Week in eighth place.

Despite the summer heat, now also present in Schleswig-Holstein, the thermal sea breeze did not cooperate with the sailing community on Wednesday. "The weak gradient wind worked against it for a long time," explained meteorologist Sebastian Wache from Kiel Weather World, "there were repeated lulls and strong wind shifts." Even close to shore in front of the entrance to the Kiel Fjord, no stable breeze developed.

The ILCA 6 and 7 classes suffered the consequences, as they did not sail any more races. As a result, the Kiel Week winner in the ILCA 7 class was Italian Attilio Borio, ahead of Frenchman Lorenzo Mayer and John Frederik Wolff from Denmark. The two German medal contenders, Schweckendiek and Buhl, could only shrug their shoulders. In the ILCA 6 class, there was a one-two finish for Danish Dynamite: Helena Wolff won ahead of Anna Munch. Bronze went to Italian Chiara Benini Floriani.

The Nacra 17 class also remained in port due to lack of wind and the absence of a final race. John Gimson and Anna Burnet from Great Britain are therefore the Sailing Grand Slam Champions. They won convincingly ahead of Emil Jarüdd and Hanna Jonsson (Sweden). Australians Ruben and Rita Booth, tied on points, had to settle for bronze.

Kieler Woche Sailing Website

RESULTS here

PHOTOS: Kieler Woche / Felix Diemer