Kaarle Tapper is fighting for the ILCA7 class European sailing championship in Italy. The races start on Friday.
Sailor Kaarle Tapper got to celebrate his first adult race medal by placing bronze in the European Championship regatta in France that ended last season.
Just a little over three months later, the Helsinki native has the opportunity to brighten up his medal when the international sailing season starts. This time, at the EC level, the competition will take place in Italian waters from March 10 to 17.
– Small cake coffees were held, no bigger parties. Now the goal is to go get the next medal right away. The European Championship is a good measure to see how the winter training has brought results. And they also give an indication of the entire upcoming season, says Tapper, who stopped by in Helsinki.
With the corona pandemic mixing up the competition calendars, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are also fast approaching.
The sailors are hunting for places in the World Championships in August, but during the summer there will be a fight for, among other things, which of the Finnish sailors will claim a representative place at the Olympics, if and when they are achieved. When there is only one berth per boat class.
– At the World Championships, the minimum goal is a place in Paris, but yes, I’m going to fight for a medal there as well. You can’t be sure of anything in sports, but I’m also starting from the fact that I’ll be there at the Paris Games, Tapper smiles.
27-year-old Tapper has already represented Finland twice in the Olympic Games. The Tokyo Olympic regatta got off to a promising start, as the Finn was still at the top of the competition after three starts. However, the final ranking fell to ninth after a few weaker days and the final start. It was a big disappointment for the young man.
– All investment was made in the Tokyo project. I had no plans beyond that. After the Olympics, I had to think for a while whether I should continue sailing at all, or whether it’s time to move on to new challenges, says Tapper.
What kept you going?
– Of course, it was disappointing that I didn’t get to the medals. It motivates me, and now I’m really looking forward to Paris, Tapper laughs.
Thigh burning harder ride
Tapper’s winter training season included two longer camps in southern Spain together with Norwegian, German and French competition partners.
The focus has been on the even harder boat speed and starts, which have often been challenging for Tapper.
– In my opinion, the winter has gone well. Based on the tests, the physics has progressed and is especially needed in strong winds. Outside the boat, you practically hang on your thighs and mid-body, so you can get a really good burn there, says Tapper
Of course, boat speed is the sum of many factors: technique, timing and how the sail is trimmed. Everything has to be successful, because in the ILCA7 class (former Laser Standard class) up to 20 boat crews are fighting fairly evenly for medals.
And there are plenty of challengers at Tapper in Finland as well. The complements of the ILCA7 class A national team Nooa Laukkanen and Valtteri Uusitalo, but the name stands out among the challengers of the B national team Aleksi Tapper.
– There has been a tight fight with my brother, but so far he has stayed behind, Kaarle Tapper laughs.