The day began with the races of the youth and junior fleets, while the wind picked up quickly thanks to the approaching storm front. In the U19 men's class, Henrik Løset Eriksen from Norway continues to confidently hold the top position. David Bleistein from Sweden also remains unbeaten in the U17 boys' class and was able to extend his winning streak with another strong performance. Anna Korevaar from the Netherlands once again caused a stir in the U17 girls' class. She took the overall lead in her category with an impressive third place in a mixed race, underlining her status as a rising star in the class.
Seaweed pitch with Fabian Wolf
When the wind reached its full strength, the main fields also took to the water. Both the men's and women's fleets completed four intensive course races. In the men's fleet, Tomasz Romanowski from Poland was able to maintain his overall lead. However, he shared the limelight with two strong up-and-comers: Skip Brull from the Netherlands and Jeronimo Abogado from Mexico. Both secured two wins each and catapulted themselves into contention for the Medal Series. "I had a great day today. I've never won a race in the senior fleet before, and then to take two was just incredible. Especially the close finish in the last race! I'm over the moon that I was able to move up to sixth place and will try to maintain this position tomorrow to make it to the final on Wednesday," commented Jeronimo Abogado on his performance.
By his own admission, Fabian Wolf "did a lot right, but had just as much bad luck with seaweed", which unintentionally slowed him down. He remains close to the leaders in third place, four points behind.
Sophia Meyer on course for a podium finish
The dominance of the French team continued in the women's fleet. Ambar Papazian, Justine Lemeteyer and Marion Couturier each secured race wins. Thanks to her consistency and a series of strong results, Marion Couturier took the lead in the overall standings. Hot on her heels is Germany's Sophia Meyer, who rounded off the day with a convincing victory in the final race. After a total of nine races, the 20-year-old is second overall, just four points behind leader Marion Couturier. "I'm surprised myself at how well it went, even though the conditions were a 'fight for survival' for us," said the Kiel native, summarising an exhausting day at the regatta, after which she is on course for her own finish. Meyer: "I would like to finish on the Kiel Week podium - preferably at the top, of course."
Foil world champion Justine Lemeteyer was delighted with her success at Kieler Woche: "It was a pretty good day for me, my first win in an international iQFOiL fleet. It's really great, especially considering the tough conditions with lots of rain and very strong winds! It was great fun out there and I'm looking forward to tomorrow!"
Because then it should continue like this, the decisions will be made as to who will be in the Medal Series on Wednesday. Alica Stuhlemmer is just within reach in 12th place, Max Körner in eighth place in the men's race has the best chances. Erik Wehkamp (2nd), Paul Regber, Noah Schmäh, Marius Müller, Nils Präger and Tom Franke (fourth to eighth) are on course for the final in the U19 men's race, which is largely made up of young German riders. There is also likely to be a strong German contingent in the U17s with Julian Ahrens, Gustav Pöschke, Gustav Grünbaum and Philipp Köhlert.
