World Sailing Championship: Kördel goes for a swim - and leads
Weak winds and strong currents made for challenging conditions at the Sailing World Championships off The Hague and Scheveningen on Monday. The iQFoilers are also taking part as an Olympic class. The fact that the first tickets for the 2024 Olympics will be awarded at the World Championships for all ten Olympic sailing disciplines makes the regatta one of the most important events of the year. Reigning world champion Sebastian Kördel was not fazed by the "tricky" conditions at the start. The athlete from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein leads the fleet of 93 iQFoil windsurfers after four races.
Kördel was initially "taken off the board" by Olympic champion Kiran Badloe (Netherlands) in the first race on Monday. Both ended up in the water. But Kördel was already able to cancel out the bad result. He then left no doubt as to how serious he was about defending his title with third place and two wins on the day. In the evening, the jury ruled in his favour, awarding him compensation for the botched start.
You could easily have picked up a lot of points today. I'm glad that I got through like this." Sebastian Kördel
"It was a dangerous day today in the light and complicated wind conditions," said the 32-year-old in the evening on the beach of The Hague's World Championship harbour Scheveningen, taking stock. "You could have scored a lot of points quickly. My speed was there and I'm glad that I got through like this."
Behind Kördel, Luuc van Opzeeland and Thomas Goyard are in second and third place. Slalom World Champion Maciek Rutkowski is making a guest appearance on the iQFoil in The Hague and is currently in 23rd place, just ahead of Fabian Wolf as the second best German in 26th place, Jonne Heimann is 52nd.
Weak winds, strong current
All classes suffered increasingly from adverse conditions as the day progressed. In the North Sea area off Scheveningen, the 1200 or so Olympians had to contend with strong currents in light winds.
At the beginning of the week, some races had to be cancelled on Monday afternoon because the spring tide was approaching and the current increased by two knots. Although a mammoth programme of 50 races could be completed, some of the races scheduled for the afternoon fell victim to the weather phenomenon, which will continue to affect the Olympic highlight of the year in the coming days. Those who are challenged in the mornings at the World Championships on the North Sea currently have the best chances of making it.
The iQFoil ladies, who didn't get a chance yesterday - too little wind, too strong current - are also hoping for this. Lena Erdil, Theresa Steinlein, Helena Wanser and Alisa Engelmann are competing from Germany. The medals in the ten Olympic disciplines will be awarded between 17 and 20 August.
