You could actually ask Theresa - known as Resi - Steinlein the same questions as her twin sister Sophie in 2020 (here in an interview). Their sailing careers ran in parallel until 2020, starting out in the Optimist at the age of five, first successes, then even more success in the 420er youth sailing boat, but also windsurfing on the local Wörthsee. Back then, they got a taste of the Olympic iQFOiL material together. While Sophie decided to return to sailing with the 49FX after a year of testing and is now also a member of the German SailGP team, Resi has since been specifically aiming to take part in the 2024 Olympics on the iQFOiL in Marseille.
Theresa Steinlein made this dream come true by finishing sixth at the Trofeo Princesa Sofia. She had already secured the necessary national starting place at the World Championships at the beginning of the year, and now she has fulfils the internal DSV criteria for an Olympic start and travels to Marseille in the summer.
In autumn 2023, Theresa Steinlein talked about her career and training for the Olympics in a surf interview. We show you the interview again here to get to know the German Olympic starter!
Pretty brave, your first participation on the iQFOiL in 2020 was the European Championships on Lake Silvaplana. Sophie (29th) was four places ahead of you. Was there already a spark there?
We've been sailing against each other since we were little, but when we meet on the race course, we've always tried to "stay out of each other's way". In training, however, we always fought and tried to be better than the other. When we were in Silvaplana, I had learnt to windsurf properly two weeks earlier. Sophie had been at it a bit longer, so it was difficult to compare.
Then straight to the International iQFOiL Games on Lake Garda. Compete with the big names again?
Yes, that was the second windsurfing regatta of my life and to be honest, I didn't know much about foil windsurfing at the time. When I think back, it was really tough to surf against several Olympians who had been competing for years.
You moved to Lake Garda the following year to train there. With whom? And was that the breakthrough?
I moved to Lake Garda and spent the first year there surfing every day on my own. Sometimes I was allowed to train with the Italians at Circolo Surf Torbole.
There are only a handful of women in Germany who surf regattas on the Olympic board. Did you finance everything on your own initiative, or did the German Sailing Association support you from the start?
Initially only through the Olympic team of the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV) in Hamburg, later from 2022 through the DSV when I qualified for the junior squad (NK 1). Since 2023, I've been in the perspective squad (PK) and in the Bundeswehr's sports support group. I have confirmed this PK for 2024. And I have a very generous equipment sponsor in Starboard/Severne (APM Marketing). The Lido Blue surf centre with Petr Svoboda is also supporting me financially for the third season now.
iQFOiL equipment is not exactly cheap, totalling around 10,000 euros, although top athletes are to receive a special reduced price of around 8,000 euros. How high is the current demand for training and competition equipment?
If you take good care of the material, two to three sets per season are still the minimum.
Manufacturing tolerances are said to occur again and again, especially with the masts, and in some cases the athletes grind the front and back wings. That's why checks are carried out at the regattas. How strictly is this carried out?
In the meantime, every international race is being checked more and more closely. The measurers are also gaining experience. In my opinion, the iQFOiL Class and Starboard are doing more than any other Olympic class to create fair conditions for everyone. Soon 3D scans will also be used, which will make everything even more accurate and fair. Of course, with a board travelling at speeds of up to 25 or 30 knots, every little tolerance plays a role.
In addition to your success at the Kieler Woche, you were able to attract attention at the 2022 World Championships in France with your 3rd place in the U21 classification. Since then, you've been part of the DSV's prospective squad and the DSV also provides you with your own coach, Daniel Sljik. What exactly does the support look like?
Yes, exactly, I've had Daniel as my official DSV coach since the start of 2023, which I'm very happy about and couldn't wish for a better coach. The DSV has created an optimal training structure for me and the financial support is also good; without the association and the Bundeswehr, this Olympic campaign would not be possible.
Unfortunately, the DSV didn't nominate you for the Pre Olympics in Marseille in July 2023. Was that a big disappointment?
In the beginning, of course, very much so, because I really missed the national qualification by two points and then unfortunately no German IQ foiler was sent to the Pre Olympics. But I was actually able to look on the bright side very quickly, as I then had all the more time to prepare for the World Championships in The Hague/Scheveningen.
At the end of August 2023, all Olympic sailing, surfing and kitesurfing classes were on the water there for the World Championships. Did you go there with anger in your stomach, because after seven races you were in eleventh place in the extremely strong field?
I wouldn't say with anger, but I was definitely very motivated to show myself that I could be at the front. Above all, I wanted Daniel's and my work over the last six months to pay off.
In race two, which you could follow on the live tracker, you got away from the competition with incredible speed and went on to win the race. There was also another first place in race seven. Where did your sudden superiority come from?
It's hard to say, but I was just sure that these were my conditions and that I had very good speed, which gave me a lot of confidence. I focussed as much as possible on the start, because that is the most important basis for success in every race, especially on the iQFOiL.
It's inexplicable to outsiders that you slumped from race eight onwards and ended up 27th, even though you were still able to leave numerous top women behind you. Material or fitness problems? Or mental?
I was in a very good position in terms of equipment and fitness and had no problems with it. My health wasn't good the night before and I didn't sleep well that night, so the next day I just didn't have the energy.
That's a shame, because you've also missed out on an Olympic spot for Germany for the time being. Where and when will you have your next chance? Sebastian Kördel, the world championship runner-up, has already secured the German men's starting place.
There will be another starting place for all European nations at the next iQFOiL World Championships in Lanzarote in February 2024 and then five more in Hyeres, France, in the spring.
Editor's note: In Lanzarote, Steinlein then won the starting place for E as hoped
Windsurfing has been an Olympic sport since 1984, so the issue of doping and strict testing automatically comes into play. What do the checks look like?
Not quite as strict for me yet, as I'm in the perspective squad. There are unannounced checks during training or at competitions. The DSV athletes in the Olympic squad, which is the highest squad, have to register daily in an app and document where they are so that NADA (National Anti-Doping Agency; the ed.) can meet the athlete at any time for a check.
Back to the family: The annual internal comparison with your dad Markus, who was a very successful regatta racer himself, always takes place at the One Hour Classic on Lake Garda. How did the foil duel go?
Yes, it's cool, Dad is certainly one of the fastest on the lake, but this year I beat him for the first time. My goal was to take a lap off him, in the end it was a thigh.
You don't have much time, you travel a lot to regattas, you're also studying business administration and you've also taken part in various photo shoots as a model in between. Last question: Since 4 September 2023, you have been doing your basic military service as a soldier in the Bundeswehr's sports support group. Where are you stationed?
I joined the German Armed Forces in January and am stationed in the Hamburg Sports Promotion Group. As far as possible, I'm studying business administration in a distance-learning programme in Rome. I haven't quite finished it yet, but I only have four exams left before my bachelor's degree. I'm currently taking a bit of a break from my studies, but I'm already working on my Bachelor's thesis.
Thank you for the interview and good luck on your way to the Olympics.
Facts Theresa Steinlein
- Birthday: 6 March 2002
- Place of residence: Walchstadt am Wörthsee
- Profession: Sports soldier/distance learning business studies
- Height/weight: 163 cm/62 kilos
- Sails since: 2007
- Surfing since: 2020
- Regatta debut: iQFOiL European Championship 2020 Lake Silvaplana
- Sail number: GER 799
- Successes: 1st place German Championship 2022 and 2023, 3rd place U21 World Championship 2022
- Favourite spots: Lake Garda
- Favourite discipline: Slalom/Foil
- Hobbies: skiing, racing bike, gym
- Sponsors: First parents, occasionally my grandpa, now Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV), Deutscher Segler-Verband (DSV), Surfcenter Lido Blu and, since January 2023, Bundeswehr sports support group
- Instagram: theresasteinlein
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