Kieler Woche Day 6: Double gold for France in Olympic classes
by Kieler Woche 25 Jun 13:38 PDT
21-29 June 2025
Following a hard fight Marion Couturier from France secured the overall win it the iQFOiL Games at Kieler Woche 2025 © Felix Diemer / Kieler Woche
Perfect sailing conditions marked the final of Kieler Woche in the Olympic skiff, dinghy, and surf classes: On Wednesday, June 25, the waters off Schilksee offered fresh to strong, challenging winds with flat waves — ideal for the medal races of the third Sailing Grand Slam 2025.
Tension, jubilation, exhaustion and disappointment were all closely intertwined in the tight races for Kieler Woche gold. Denmark (ILCA 6), Italy (ILCA 7), Great Britain (49erFX), France twice (49er and iQFOiL Women), and Germany (iQFOiL Men) celebrated overall victories.
The day began with the golden laughter of Anna Munch. The Dane crossed the finish line third in the ILCA 6 medal race, clenched her fist, and couldn't stop smiling. Her final placement was enough to confidently defend her lead and claim Kieler Woche gold ahead of Hungary's Maria Erdi and Belgium's Emma Plasschaert. After finishing fourth at the World Championships in Qingdao, China, a month ago, she has now reached the top. The former Europe-class sailor now appears to be Denmark's trump card for the upcoming Olympic Games and could follow in the footsteps of Anne-Marie Rindom, who won three Olympic medals for Denmark in the past three Games.
Celebration was more subdued among the ILCA 7 men. Italian sailor Lorenzo Brando Chiavarini needed a few minutes and the help of his coaches to calculate that his fifth-place finish in the final was enough for overall victory. Then came the thumbs-up: "It was a tough week. I'm very happy, I gave all I can. Thanks to Kiel. It's great to have this iconic event in the books as a winner."
His initial hesitation was due to a poor pre-start phase: "I was too late, and my young compatriot Dimitri Peroni had a good start. I did everything I could to catch up with him." And he succeeded: although Peroni won the medal race, he had to settle for second overall, ahead of Ireland's Finn Lynch.
While the yellow jersey holders in the dinghy classes held on to their leads, the German women in the 49erFX lost their gold. After dominating the skiff fleet throughout the week, the British duo Freya Black/Saskia Tidey came out on top in the end. "The medal race went perfectly for us," said helm Black. "We really wanted to win because the points were so close," added crew Tidey. And their plan worked. While the German crews stumbled, the Union Jack led the way. "It was cool to sail in such varied conditions over the past few days — classic Kiel Week weather," said Freya Black.
The chance for gold slipped away from the leaders after the fleet races, Bavarians Sophie Steinlein/Catherine Bartelheimer, at the first gate. "We were blocked by the Australian team and couldn't gybe," reported Sophie Steinlein. They barely managed to round the gate and had to slot in at the back of the ten-boat fleet. They fought their way up two places before the finish. Eighth place was just enough to secure silver — ahead of the Canadian sisters Georgia and Antonia Lewin-Lafrance. "We're happy to take the silver. It's our first Grand Slam medal as a team. Unfortunately, we didn't sail the medal race as well as the previous ones," said Steinlein.
Germany also claimed silver in the men's skiff class. In the shifting winds, positions changed constantly during the final, which also reshuffled the overall standings. In the end, the French duo Erwan Fischer and Clément Pequin, who had started Kieler Woche with boat damage but launched a strong comeback over the five days, secured gold ahead of Bavarians Jakob Meggendorfer and Andreas Spranger, and Uruguayans Hernan Umpierre and Fernando Diz. "This was very good training for the World Championship, which is our main goal. We need to keep pushing. But this win is a great way to return to the regatta scene," said Erwan Fischer. The changeable weather in Kiel suited him perfectly: "We're used to that in Brittany."
The Germans tried to go for gold in the final but were ultimately happy with silver: "In such a tight final and with shifting winds, anything can happen. We were already calculating during the race. It quickly became clear that we had the Uruguayans behind us, but we couldn't catch the French," said helmsman Meggendorfer. His crew added: "A Grand Slam medal is always welcome. It's a boost for the rest of the season, with the World Championship as the highlight."
The iQFOiL sailors enjoyed intense surfing action on the eastern side of the Kiel Fjord to close out their Kieler Woche. In the women's medal series final, three races were needed to determine the medalists — four for the men. The top qualifiers, Marion Couturier (France) for the women and Fabian Wolf (Germany) for the men, initially couldn't convert their points advantage into a quick gold in the gusty and shifting winds.
In two races with constantly changing leaders, Couturier had to watch as her compatriots Ambar Papazian and Lucie Belbeoch caught up in points. Only young Kiel sailor Sophia Meyer remained winless in the final round and, despite a strong week, finished fourth. In the end, Couturier seized her third chance for the decisive win. Ambar Papazian took silver ahead of Lucie Belbeoch.
In the men's event, Fabian Wolf entered the final with a bonus point as the top qualifier. But then his rivals Tomasz Romanowski (Poland), Skip Brüll (Netherlands), and Gunhak Choi (South Korea) each won a race. It all came down to the big showdown in the fourth and final race: only the winner would take overall gold.
And in this decisive race, Germany finally claimed the long-awaited gold. Fabian Wolf hit the start line perfectly from mid-fleet, sped toward the first mark, executed the gybe flawlessly, and nailed the angles and lay lines. He held off his competitors at just the right moment, maintained the lead, and flew across the finish line as the winner.
Wolf's celebration was almost non-existent - he was completely spent. His outstretched tongue showed how much he was gasping for air and water. He recovered on his coach's rib and only slowly began to take in the joy of this major victory on the road to the 2028 Olympic Games. Silver went to Tomasz Romanowski, bronze to Gunhak Choi.
An Italian double victory marked the ILCA 6 Men's World Championship, held alongside the Olympic classes during Kieler Woche. Alessandro Cirinei approached the final day cautiously to avoid jeopardizing his large lead. An eighth and an eleventh place were enough to secure first place. His compatriot Nicolo Giuseppe Cassitta, despite a race win on the final day, couldn't overtake him. But his silver was a clear result ahead of third-placed Ukrainian Semen Khashchyna.
While Kieler Woche ended for six Olympic disciplines, two others began the second half of the week. In the afternoon, the 470 and Nacra 17 classes took to the water. Starting Thursday, ten international dinghy and keelboat classes will follow, with all competitions concluding on Sunday. After two 470 races, Britons Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris took the lead. The best German team. In the Nacra 17, another British team leads: the highly successful John Gimson and Anna Burnet won two out of three races.
Full results here