Allianz Sailing World Championships: Wounded but determined

One of the fairy tale outcomes for Dutch supporters at the 2023 Allianz Sailing World Championships would be to witness a double Dutch victory in the skiff classes.

Over the past two years, Bart Lambriex and Floris van de Werken have won the 2021 and 2022 49er World Championships in the men’s skiff fleet, and Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz have won the female 49erFX World Championships in the same years.

Now competing on home waters, a hat trick of world titles for these two high-flying teams would seem like the obvious and very achievable outcome.

Both Dutch teams came out on top at the Paris 2024 Test Event just a few weeks ago, so they have continued to prove they are at the top of their game. But a little more than a week before the Worlds were due to begin, disaster struck for the female duo during a high-wind training session out of Scheveningen.

“It was 20 to 25 knots of wind,” recalls Duetz. “It was rough conditions and we capsized, and I rolled over the top of the boat on its side but fell on the centreboard and injured my knee badly. I felt a lot of pain and it really didn’t feel very good.”

The medical assessment wasn’t encouraging. “It looked like I wouldn’t be able to sail in the Worlds at all, so to get out today on the first day of the Worlds, to be out racing again, that was a really big step.”

To minimise any further wear and tear on Duetz’s knee, friend and former 49erFX sailor Emma Siewers offered to help van Aanholt rig the boat before sailing and do the long sail to and from the starting area.

“It’s really nice to have Emma helping us out and doing the sailing to the racecourse,” says Duetz, trying to preserve her heavily braced knee for the rigours of three races per day.

To have emerged from the first day in 13th place is a massive achievement for the Dutch team, although it’s hard to imagine they can dare to dream about that third consecutive world title. Then again, their arch-rivals from Brazil, the double Olympic Champions Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze, had an even more challenging opening day as they find themselves sitting in 23rd overall.

Duetz refuses to rule out the world title, although she says she’s focused on other priorities. “We’re very grateful to be racing here, to Emma and the team supporting us. I don’t think [winning] is the priority at the moment. We focus on the process, and we take it day by day and see what happens.”