Nassau (Bahamas), 22 November 2013 - Two
world-class German teams will be competing at the inaugural Star Sailors
League Final hosted by the Nassau Yacht Club, 3-8 December: Johannes
Polgar & Markus Koy and Robert Stanjek & Frithjof Kleen.
Actually classified 11th (Polgar) and 14th (Stanjek) in the SSL Skippers
Ranking, then 16th (Koy) and 6th (Kleen) in the Crew Ranking, these two
teams stand out in the world's second largest country in terms of Star
sailors: in fact Germany boasts a highly competitive Star Class with
nearly 400 athletes in regular competition, second only to the United
States.
Germany is truly a power house for the class and Stanjek &
Kleen, as well as Polgar and Koy, will be forces to reckon with at the
Star Sailors League Final. They have been also in the ISAF world ranking
top ten for many years and represent the strongest District 13 skippers
attending the 2013 Finals, ranking just behind Michael Hestbaek (SSL
8th).
Polgar's
sailing experience includes the Tornado, with which he won a race in the
2008 Olympics in Qingdao. Together with Koy, Polgar won the gold medal
in the 2010 Star European Championship during a memorable 132 boat
edition in Viareggio, and a silver medal in the 2013 Eastern Hemisphere
Championship at Lake Garda behind Diego Negri and Frithjof Kleen.
Johannes is looking forward to the first decade of December: "I expect
sailing at the highest level with very close racing, in a competition
that will be remembered right up to the Olympic games in Rio 2016. I
heard that Nassau delivers fantastic sailing conditions - perfect for
the setup. I feel honored to be part of this fleet and will fight hard
to bring our bow through the finishing line as quick as possible. It is
my personal sailing highlight of the year."
Stanjek
got off to a great start with the Laser, where he was four time German
Champion, with a 2nd place in the 2004 Olympic Trials. After moving to
the Star, he was crowned the 2008 European Champion in Hungary. Stanjek
also collected several important podiums, most memorably the great
battle in Perth (Australia) during the 2011 World Championship where he
got the silver medal. A recent highlight of Robert and Frithjof was
their class victory at the Fastnet Race. Catching up with him one week
prior to his departure for the Bahamas, Stanjek believes that the Star
Sailors League Final will be a real challenge: "I am proud to qualify
for Nassau and I am excited to race again with the other top teams. If
you consider the number and quality of athletes, I think it is very hard
to find stronger competition in sailing at all. The Star boat is
perfect to compare the skills and art of the sailors, because everyone
of them has a huge experience in small keelboats and most of them have
many years in the Star class itself."
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