Hamburg Bid Nears Decision on Olympic Sailing Location

(ATR)The decision on the sailing area for the ​​Hamburg 2024 Olympic bid will come down to four locations.

A nine-member panel headed by DOSB board chair Bernhard Schwank will put Kiel, Lübeck-Travemünde, Cuxhaven and Rostock-Warnemündeunder the microscope between today and Saturday.

They intend to make a recommendation by the end of the month. Hamburg senator of interior and sport Michael Neumann is also part of the jury.

The formal decision-making authority rests with the board of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) and the city of Hamburg.

The judgment of the German Sailing Federation (DSV) has weight as well. With the involvement of DSV sports director Nadine Stegenwalner, youth chairman Timo Hass and Jürgen Jentsch, president of the International Tornado Association, three members of the association will be part of the decision.

DSV president Andreas Lochbrunner had renounced participation in the deliberations. As a member of the Kiel Yacht Club, he would "not [want to] lead to the slightest doubt as to the independence of the commission."

Kiel, host of regattas as part of the 1936 and 1972 Summer Olympics, stands as the favorite.

"We have the best sailing area and the best conditions," said Kiel Mayor Ulf Kämpfer.

Germans Favor Olympic Bid

More than three-quarters of Germans support Hamburg's bid for the 2024, according to a survey by Penn Schoen Berland (PSB).

The men (79 percent) back the bid in greater numbers than women (71 percent). The younger population (16 to 29) supports the effort at a rate 84 percent higher than among those over 30 years of age.

As for the venue, 76 percent of respondents consider the Hanseatic city the right location for the Games. For seniors over 70 years of age, the consent was even higher than 80 percent.

Written by Heinz Peter Kreuzer

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