BUHL Philipp

General
REDEEMING RIO
He said his gold medal at the 2020 Laser Standard Men's World Championship in Melbourne, VIC, Australia helped him overcome the disappointment of finishing 14th at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "It was difficult not to lose faith [after Rio]. I couldn't get the doubts out of my head. I felt like I had let everyone down. But it also served as motivation for me. I knew that my chance would come again. [Winning a world title in 2020] felt like redemption, after so many years of work and chasing that one goal." (allgaeu.life 17 Feb 2020)

OLYMPIC ASPIRATIONS
Although he is tempted by lucrative sailing events like the America's Cup, he remains committed to the "purity" of Olympic Laser class sailing. "I'm not interested in getting rich [through sailing]. Sure, the America's Cup is a long-term dream, it's the technical pinnacle of sailing. But after sailing in [the America's Cup] I would go back to Olympic sailing. That appeals to me more than having some awesome yacht provided by a multi-billionaire and winning a silver jug every three or four years. The Laser boat class has a much stronger attraction for me. It is pure sailing - the same boats for everyone, a battle for millimetres, and in the end the best sailor wins." (tagesspiegel.de, Aug 08, 2016)

In 2020 he became the first German sailor to win a men's Laser class world championship gold medal. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Mar 2020; allgaeu.life, 16 Feb 2020)