Helen Pais and Helen Ausman Win Silver at Kieler Woche

Helen Pais and Helen Ausman, sailors from our club claimed silver in the women’s Olympic 49erFX class at the prestigious Kieler Woche regatta in Germany. The result is one of the most significant achievements by Estonian sailors in Olympic classes on the international stage in recent years.

Pais and Ausman made an excellent start to the regatta, finishing the opening day in second place before moving into the overall lead after the following races. The Estonian crew remained among the frontrunners throughout the competition, battling for the medals until the very end. After 11 qualifying races and two final races, they secured the silver medal in a fleet of 52 boats.

“The regatta went really well for us. We arrived in Kiel a week before the event to get used to the local light and shifty wind conditions, which gave us a solid foundation. During the regatta, we focused on taking one race at a time all the way to the finals. The finals were especially exciting because the new competition format kept the points incredibly close, and the medal positions were not decided until the very last race. There were a couple of races we felt we could have sailed better, which shows there is still room for improvement. The competition was extremely strong, with top teams from virtually all the major sailing nations. For us, Kieler Woche was an important preparation event ahead of the European Championships in Eckernförde, which begin in just over a week,” said Helen Pais and Helen Ausman.

The only crew to finish ahead of the Estonians was the Canadian team of Georgia Lewin-LaFrance and Antonia Lewin-LaFrance. Bronze went to Germany’s Sophie Steinlein and Catherine Bartelheimer.

Kieler Woche is part of the World Sailing Grand Slam series and is one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious sailing regattas. Held for the 144th time, the event brings together Olympic medallists, world and European champions, and emerging stars from more than 50 countries on Kiel Bay.

Pais and Ausman are members of the Estonian Sailing Federation’s Olympic development programme, “Young Talents to the Olympics,” which supports Estonia’s most promising sailors on their path towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
“Kieler Woche is a regatta that attracts the world’s very best sailors, and winning a medal at this event is a clear indication of world-class performance. Helen Pais and Helen Ausman have worked consistently over the past few years, and this result confirms that they have established themselves as a highly competitive crew on the international stage,” said Sven Nuutmann, President of the Estonian Sailing Federation.

Other Estonian competitors at Kieler Woche included Andrias Sepp and Liise Väliste in the 470 class (26th place), Mari Ottesson in the ILCA 6 class (55th), and Karel Ratnik in the ILCA 7 class (100th).

Results: https://www.manage2sail.com/en-BE/event/kiwo2026#!/results?classId=8d042f39-f4c5-4a6b-b1c9-32bb3e0580cb

Sources: puri.ee and err.ee