Olympiad 2020 Tokyo - 49erFX

2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo - Silver medal - Tina & Sanni

Sanni Beucke: Sanni started out on small dinghies, then took part in the European and World Championships in the 49erFX. As a teenager, she was determined to optimise her sporting skills and represent Germany at the Olympic Games. And she did everything she could to achieve her goal. She trained hard. Tirelessly, every day. She honed every little detail, worked on herself, on the boat's performance and on impeccable teamwork. She then qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo - and won the silver medal in the 49erFX together with Tina Lutz. British coach Ian Barker and Argentinian skiff sailor Klaus Lange played a big part in her silver medal.
Tina Lutz: Sailing started for Tina in the Opti, she was very successful in cups and championships. The then 14-year-old became a "sailing star" overnight, as TinaLutz was the first girl ever to become Opti World Champion in 2005. Their career together in the 49erFX ends where it first began in a boat on Valentine's Day 2007: Tina Lutz and Sanni Beucke bid farewell as an Olympic team and beaming Olympic silver medallists at the 128th Kiel Week on their favourite sailing area. "We were always there for each other in good times and bad, we were a great team," says Tina. When asked about her tips for the youngsters, she emphasized that it was important to go her own way, to get “out of the corset” and to rely completely on herself and her own trainer Ian Barker, who guided the two “as fast as a rat.” Tina always knew that sailing is "an extremely mental sport" and worked consistently with mental trainers. "We managed not to think about the medal during the Olympic Games, even if it was difficult when the final race was postponed by a day," says Tina, describing the path to the Olympic podium. Source: SegelReporter.com, Foto: © Sailing Energy / World Sailing

Sanni Beuke: "Against the wind - Backflip, when the wind knocks you down"

A book by Sanni Beuke, published in March 2024 (German language), encourages women to assert themselves and empowers them to achieve their individual goals. Her book is a story about fear and loneliness, but above all it is about pure happiness and a deep infatuation with the ocean. A tribute to adventure and independence and an encouragement to dream bigger. One exciting chapter is entitled "Backflip, when the wind knocks you down". She was very successful in the team with Tina Lutz in the 49erFX, they won the silver medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, see a report here.
Dreams: Sanni is fulfilling her wish to sail the world's oceans and experience the elemental forces of the ocean. She wants to be the first German woman to win the "Solitaire du Figaro" - the toughest sailing regatta in the world. And then? She sets sail for her next dream: the "Vendée Globe" in 2028, a race around the world, 45,000 kilometres across the oceans, through different winds and climate zones, alone in around 80 days and without help, non-stop! www.vendeeglobe.org/en. Source: www.sannibeuckesailing.org.

Sanni Beuke: "Backflip" - Strategy and Tactics in Offshore Sailing - Wind and Waves

Constantly assess your goal, opportunities and risks

Sanni Beuke sailed 49erFX at the Olympics and reached the podium with a silver medal. Just as in inland sailing in a 49erFX, you also set yourself the mental goal of arriving at your destination in the shortest possible time on the ocean. The other yachts are pursuing the same goal, so it's like a "Olympic Race" on a grand scale. You then experience the "elemental forces of the ocean", ocean sailing requires the crew to make a whole host of tactical decisions, always weighing up:

"Increasing opportunities and reducing risk".

"Wind and waves" require constant observation in order to optimise the course to be sailed by "tacking or jibing". The tactician on board must constantly evaluate opportunity and risk, e.g. adjust the boat speed by setting or recovering the sail area, "before the wind knocks you over with a roll backwards". The aim is always to avoid the emotional, mental and physical risk for the team on board and any damage to the yacht.