At the halfway point of the "Trofeo Princesa Sofia" regatta yesterday, there was light to medium wind and both the men and women were able to complete four heats each in the iQFoil. Theresa Steinlein moved up to third place in the overall standings with finishes of 5th, 4th, 13th and 3rd. The twin sister of SailGP strategist Sophie Steinlein is getting closer and closer to her Olympic dream. Coach Daniel Slijk says of the up-and-comer, who only switched from sailing to Olympic windsurfing in 2020: "She has made enormous progress and always has a very good overview of the course."
Sebastian Kördel is also getting better and better. The 2022 World Champion and 2023 World Championship runner-up got off to a weak start to the season with a botched World Championships, fought his way to sixth place in his second elimination regatta at the iQFoil Games in Cadiz despite a crash and injury and, according to his own calculations, still needs a top eleven finish to fulfil all of the DSV's internal criteria for nomination for the Olympic regatta in Marseille. "My starting position is good," said the 1.91 metre tall Kördel optimistically at the halfway point in Can Pastilla - he is now in ninth place. The positive attitude is also based on the fact that he has achieved the result so far in the huge field of 107 windsurfers in rather light conditions - they are not his greatest strength.
Kördel with good starts and hope for the summer
"The starts were also my biggest weakness at the World Championships. I only had one weak start in eight starts here. We worked a lot on the starts," explained Kördel on Wednesday evening in Can Pastilla. He added with a smile: "I'm getting better and better. I'm more the kind of guy who performs in the summer." Which sounds like a good omen for his hoped-for Olympic première.
Pawel Tarnowski remains at the top of the men's rankings, with an unblemished record of one thanks to his second string. A Norwegian duo is ahead of Theresa Steinlein in the women's ranking, although Mina Mobekk had to surrender the lead to her compatriot Maya Gysler.
Further back, Sophia Meyer from Berlin was able to maintain her 37th place, while Alisa Engelmann slipped to 54th place, although she only took part in one run yesterday. Lena Haverland is in 70th place and Max Körner is currently in 100th place in the men's race.
