PLOESSEL Thomas

General
PARTNER
He and his crewmate Erik Heil first sailed together in 2001 at the Tegel Sailing Club in Berlin, Germany. The pair competed in the Teeny, 420, and 470 classes before moving on to 49er in 2011. After winning a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the pair considered ending their partnership due to their education commitments. Ultimately their coach from their teenage years, Michael Koster, kept them together by persuading them that they could still compete in sport while keeping their professional ambitions on track. "I'm extremely happy with how we did it. I wouldn't have thought that it was possible." (hp-sailing.de, 01 Apr 2021; segelreporter.com, 09 Mar 2020; redbull.com, 01 Mar 2020; germansailingteam.de, 11 Nov 2019)

DISAPPOINTMENT WITH RIO BRONZE
He was disappointed with his performance at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, despite winning bronze in the 49er class. "After that, I fell into a hole that lasted for almost two years. In principle, it started right after the Games with what I felt was the failure of the bronze medal. It was a big failure for me. It was horrible - and it gave me a feeling of uselessness." (segelreporter.com, 09 Mar 2020)

FURTHER EDUCATION
He has studied for a master's degree in mechanical engineering at the Berlin Institute of Technology in Germany. (Facebook profile, 22 Feb 2021; tokio.sportschau.de, 28 Feb 2020)