Martine and Kahena compete in 49erFX for the Princesa Sofía Trophy with an eye on the world elite
by On Board Sports 31 Mar 04:11 PDT
4-8 April 2023
Martine and Kahena were runners-up at Princesa Sofía in 2022 © Sailing Energy
Two-time Olympic champions Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze are ready to represent Brazil in the 49erFX class of the traditional Princesa Sofía Trophy, in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, between April 4th and 8th. The event is an important part of the preparation of the two-time Olympic champions in the run-up to the 2024 Paris Games.
The competition brings together today's top teams in a paradisaical setting and has the status of a tennis Grand Slam. About 1,200 sailors are expected, from different parts of the world, in more than ten classes.
The Princesa Sofía Trophy has been around since the 1960s and has established itself on the world sailing calendar. And the Brazilians have a history of good performance in the competition, with the title in 2019 and second place last year.
"The Princess Sofia Trophy is always a good competition to evaluate the moment we are living, with an excellent technical level. The fleet has grown a lot, and the quality of all the teams today is a very nice parameter of how the class is, already thinking in big competitions", comments Kahena Kunze.
This is the duo's second event of 2023 in Europe. In February, they placed fourth in the Lanzarote International Regatta, in Lanzarote, also in Spain, where they underwent an intense period of training.
In early March, the duo embarked on another period of preparation, this time in Palma de Mallorca. In the midst of competitions, Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze trained in Rio de Janeiro and also in Europe, where they are closely watched by coach Martha Rocha and Spanish coach Pepe Lis.
"We continue to work on our equipment to develop the boat in order to achieve more and more speed", explains Martha.
Calendar
After the Princess Sofia Trophy, Martine and Kahena's calendar for 2023 will continue to be extensive. Days later, still in Europe, they will run the Hyères Sailing Week, in France, from April 22nd to 30th. The two competitions are considered the "Grand Slams" of sailing and bring together the world's leading athletes in the 49erFX class.
"We are well prepared, but also united and giving our best every day. We are confident of good results this season", said Martine.
The training schedule includes a period between July 8th and 14th, when they will participate in a test event in the Olympic streak of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. At the end of the year, from November 8th to 13th, they will compete in the European Championship, in Vilamoura, Portugal.
Pan-American, World Cup and vacancy in the Olympics
From the 8th to the 23rd of August, they will compete in the Sailing World Cup, in The Hague, Holland. The competition defines the first vacancies for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The others will be filled in the Pan American Games in Santiago, between October and November.
Brazilian sailing will host the event in the city of Algarrobo. In addition to the Worlds and the Pan Americans, the sailors have many commitments during the year, with a schedule full of training and other competitions.
About Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze
One of the most successful partnerships in world sailing, Martine and Kahena have kept Brazil at the golden level of the sport in recent decades. Daughters of the iconic Torben Grael and Cláudio Kunze, respectively, the athletes won their first title together in 2009, the 420 Junior World Championship.
After four years in different directions, they resumed the duo in 2013 and followed a successful path, which had as highlights the gold medals at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, in addition to the 2014 world title, the 2013 world runner-up, 2015, 2017 and 2019, and winning the Lima 2019 Pan American Games, among others.