Wilhelm Kuhweide

Wilhelm " Willi " (or " Willy " ) cow pasture ( born January 6, 1943 in Berlin ) is a former German racing sailor, Olympic champion, four-time world champion and three- time European champion. In a leaderboard, which awards points for medals in the major competitions, cow pasture was rated to 1987 as the best Finn dinghy sailors, then he shared the title with Lasse Hjortnæs (2004 ); most successful Finn sailor, Ben Ainslie was recently with five World Cup titles (2008 and 2008 2002-2005 ). Cow pasture ersegelte later further success in the Star and Soling.

Cow pasture was first a member of the Berlin club sailors am Wannsee, later the Hamburg Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV ).

The Darling baptized wooden Finn, with the cow pasture celebrated its accomplishments, is now shown in the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven.

Life

With 15 years Kuhweide ersegelte his first victory at the Kieler Woche, the youth boat pirate. After his home club sailors house had been donated at Wannsee, a Finn, cow pasture was selected despite his young age to sail on the Olympic dinghy. Only sixteen years old, he won it in 1959 in the Kiel Week and was fourth at the European Championships. Finally, a year later he won the Finn European runner-up in 1961 in Warnemünde (DDR ) the European title. 1963 Kuhweide won the World Cup.

After he won the European Championship in 1964, cow pasture was literally nominated for the 1964 Olympic Games in Enoshima ( in Tokyo) until the last hour for the all-German team: his East Berlin rival Bernd Dehmel first won the elimination race in the Finn dinghy, but the race was later annulled by the IOC. Instead, were for the qualification is now the European Championship and a jump-off in Tokyo, to the Dehmel did not compete, be counted. Only half an hour before the start learned cow pasture that he participated in Enoshima at the Olympic race. There, the then West Berlin won despite otitis media the gold medal. Two years later he won again in 1966 at the Finn World Championship title, which he defended in 1967. At the Olympic Games in Mexico in 1968 he ersegelte however, only the 15th Place.

Four years later in Kiel in 1972 reached a cow pasture, now in the Star class together with Karsten Meyer, third place. In the same year he won, with Meyer in the Star class in Puerto Azul, his fourth world title. He took two more times participated in Summer Olympics, where he successfully fought the 6th Place and in 1984, in Montreal in 1976 in Los Angeles the 8th Place. In his fifth at the Olympics in 1984, he was also standard-bearer of the German team.

Cow pasture was four times world champion in sailing (1963, 1966, 1967 and 1972; 1980 Soling runner-up ). Three times he won the European title (1961 and 1962 in the Finn, 1974 Soling with Axel May, 1960 and 1967 Finn - Second and 1980 Soling Second, 1965 and 1971 Finn - third in 1959 and 1970, Finn - fourth), won ten times he at Kiel Week (last part 1983). 1967 and 1971 he became German champion in the Finn dinghy (1967 runner-up ). 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1981 was German cow pasture with Axel May Soling masters, 1985, he was German Star Class champion. 1974 cow pasture and May won the title of British Soling runners-up in 1975 and 1979 was cow pasture with another bowman in the Soling German vice-champion.

2004/2005 he was Commodore of the German Challenger Yacht Club, which organized the first German application for the America 's Cup. The United Internet Team Germany finished the selection regatta for the Cup, the Louis Vuitton Cup, but last but one.

2011 Willy cow pasture was inducted into the Hall of Fame of German sport.

Cow pasture worked full time as a pilot and later as a trainer for pilots for Lufthansa. As a pilot examiner, he moved to Phoenix in the U.S. state of Arizona: In 1989 he became head of the Lufthansa Pilot School, later, an airport was built there according to his plans. Meanwhile cow pasture lives in the nearby town of Carefree retired; he has another residence in the Swiss Küssnacht on Lake Lucerne.

Cow pasture is married his third wife and has two daughters from his first marriage. His hobbies include Kuhweide music (piano, accordion ) and especially playing golf (handicap claims to be 14).