It was a world championship appearance: Andy Laufer won the Grandmaster title, i.e. the gold medal among the over 50s, at the Slalom World Championships on the Greek Aegean island of Paros.
Herrsching
- "I had imagined it would be easier," said the 51-year-old Herrschinger after his triumph, "there were two or three really good ones".
Especially the Greek local hero Philip Adamidis, in the end second behind Laufer, gave him a hard time.
"He knows the area and is on the water there every day."
What Laufer cannot say about himself. “I was hardly able to train, there was almost no wind at the Ammersee this year. Four days on Lake Garda were my only preparation. ”And that was noticeable in the Herrsching-based speed specialist when it came to stamina. "In the end, I just lacked fitness." That is why he also missed his goal of finishing in the top 15 in the overall ranking of more than 70 starters. "At top speed I was in the top five, but after jibing I had problems pumping up again and accelerating, so I just lacked fitness." In the end, it was 18th place, "with which I am very happy." , said Laufer.
The conditions at the well-known surf spot on Pounda Beach on Paros were ideal. “That was one of the best regattas I've ever driven,” said Laufer. “We had wind on all four days of the competition.” The Meltemi blew up to eight Beaufort from the north towards Crete and demanded everything from the windsurfers.
However, it will blow even stronger in Lüderitz / Namibia. The Lüderitz Speed Challenge 2021 will take place there in the specially built high-speed channel from October 18 to November 28. Andy Laufer has already booked a plane ticket. From October 24th he will try to break the German speed record again. Gunnar Asmussen had snatched that from Herrschinger 2018 in Lüderitz with 51.79 knots to 500 meters, after Laufer had set a new record just a few days earlier (51.32) and had already traveled home.
