As Theresa Steinlein and Sebastian Kördel stood almost side by side in the mixed zone for interviews on Thursday evening after their final races of the windsurfing main round in the still scorching heat, their sporting and emotional worlds could hardly have been more different. One of them - Theresa Steinlein - had just earned her place in the finals and thus the chance to fight for an Olympic medal on Friday. The other - Sebastian Kördel - was denied a place in the final, even though he was so close after a rocky first day of windsurfing and a great comeback.
Kördel four points short of reaching the final
Following a protest that did not directly affect him and the disqualification of a Spaniard late on Thursday evening, Sebastian Kördel was four points short of making it into the top ten after just 13 of the 20 races originally planned. They will now fight for the medals on Friday without him. "Such a shame," said the 1.91 metre tall 2022 World Champion, referring to the last race, which he was leading by a large margin in complicated winds when it was cancelled. A third race win would have easily carried him into the final. Instead, the Radolfzell native, who had started the Olympic premiere of the iQFOiLers as one of the favourites, was eliminated.
My two race wins have shown that I belong here!
"I'm very disappointed," admitted Kördel candidly. In the interview after the knockout blow, the 33-year-old had to struggle for composure under a wide hat brim and behind mirrored sunglasses. Then he also found a positive perspective: "I'm very happy about my two race victories, which not everyone manages at the Olympics. They have shown that I belong here." In the moment of his heavy defeat, that was a small consolation. His two race wins are the only ones so far for the German national sailing team.
Anything is possible for Theresa Steinlein in the Olympic final
Perhaps the youngest member of the German sailing team, Theresa Steinlein, will add one more today. The former sailor, who only switched to windsurfing four years ago, has earned her place in the final series after 14 races with places 3, 11, 12, (16), 16, 13, 2, 5, 5, 13 and 12. These points will no longer play a role in her quarter-final. Just making it to the quarter-finals is a terrific success for Theresa, whose father Markus was already an internationally successful windsurfer.
The windsurfing final format is as simple as it is brutal: the windsurfers in fourth to tenth place at the end of the main round will compete in a single quarter-final heat. The top two quarter-finalists will meet the second and third placed in the main round in a semi-final heat. Once again, the two best semi-finalists will go through to the final, for which, in the case of the women, Emma Wilson, who came first in the main round, is already seeded. The Brit has performed so strongly in the bay of Marseille that she is already guaranteed a medal. Which one it will be will be decided by a final run against the two best semi-finalists.
I believe that success at the Olympics is ultimately a mental task." Theresa Steinlein
Theresa, whose twin sister Sophie is a successful 49erFX sailor and strategist for the Germany SailGP team, has enjoyed her Olympic premiere so far despite the many tough tests and waiting times, as she says: "Yes, the area here is super patchy. But I like it because you have to think for yourself. I'm happy that the wind has been like this so far - you don't have to be heavy and shoot into the corners."
Plan A - final races on Friday. But will the wind play ball?
Because the winds could also weaken on Friday according to the latest forecasts, there was initially a lot of planning on Thursday evening for the scheduling of the races for four medal decisions, with the World Sailing Federation spokesman describing the following variant as "Plan A": The medal races for the skiff sailors, which cannot be held on Thursday in light winds, are to be held on Friday at 12.10 pm (49erFX) and 1.10 pm (49er). The windsurfers could start their quarter-finals at 2 pm, followed directly by the semi-finals and final.
A scenario was described as "Plan B" which, in the event of an obvious lack of wind, would see the windsurfing finals actively postponed to Saturday at midday, while the skiff medal races would be postponed until late Friday afternoon. In the event of a total calm, the skiff sailors would also have the option of postponing to 3 August.
