Jochen Schümann’s world career began at the Müggelsee in Berlin. He won three Olympic gold medals and the America’s Cup twice, although he was already sailing quite a bit early on. Now he is 71 years old and still cannot give up his passion.
Jochen Schümann’s love for sailing started in a school group. The Berliner was an enthusiastic hobbyist, and in 1965 at school in the Köpenick district he had the opportunity to build his own boat. “I loved working with wood,” recalls Schümann, now 71 years old. “From fifth grade onwards I was allowed to join the ‘Shipbuilding Cruise’ group.” In the summer of 1966 he launched the optimistic ship into the water for the first time at Müggelsee. Soon he became Berlin champion in this class of boat – the starting signal for the world career of the most successful German sailor.
Soon we went to the sailing department at TSC Berlin, but at first the Olympics were out of the question. “Opportunity plays a big role for me,” said Schümann. “I was lucky enough to be nominated for the Olympic youth camp in 1972. I spent six weeks in Munich and Kiel, watching the Olympics live. It was a dream and gave me a huge boost. Then I realized: That’s what you want as an athlete! That was an important experience for me.”
Schümann managed to use the momentum to assert himself in the GDR against the established sailors from the Baltic Sea. He is a two-time European junior champion. This reassured the GDR sports leaders. So he was allowed to take part in the Olympics in 1976 when he was only 22 years old. In Canada, he left almost all competitions with a Finnish boat at the station in Kingston (Lake Ontario). “I only have Andrei Balashov from the Soviet Union as my biggest opponent,” Schümann said. “But I controlled it well.” On July 27, Schümann became Olympic champion for the first time.
Difficult years followed: in 1980 and 1984 there were no medals for Schümann. Two Olympic boycotts – first from the West, then from the East – first demotivated him and then prevented him from participating as a GDR sailor in Los Angeles. “Those were difficult times for me,” said Schümann, who ranked fifth in 1980. “It made me despair and almost give up. If you invest your whole life, of course you want to sail in the Olympics – against the best in the world.
“The transition period from 1990 was very difficult”
Schümann was actually sick of sailing, but then a new perspective emerged. “I wanted to end it in 1984,” Schümann said. “But the coaches said: ‘Try something different’.” With two Berliners Thomas Flach and Bernd Jäkel he switched to the Soling boat. “If you have been an individual athlete for a long time, of course you are often alone with yourself,” says Schümann. “The team brought a different level of motivation and a lot more fun. It was probably the best time I’ve had in sailing.” And it worked: in 1988 the trio won Olympic gold in South Korea.
Then German reunification occurred. “The transition period since 1990 has been very difficult,” says Schümann. “Everything was turned upside down, including the old competitive sports system in East Germany. It’s hard to find yourself again.” Previously, things like boat transportation and financing were organized by the state. Because of their success, the three sailors found employers who supported and supported the athletes’ lives, so they could continue their lives.
“Many other people from East Germany surrendered,” Schümann recalled. “For us in 1992, it was a reaction of defiance because many people said: ‘You can forget Schümann and Co., they will never get it together.’ We want to show that we are the best in all the German teams.” One of his training partners was the Spanish King Felipe (57), who was then active in Soling.
However, in 1992, Barcelona only finished fourth. “We screwed it up ourselves,” Schümann said. “We were the reigning world champions and made too many mistakes. Therefore, the original plan to stop after 1992 was no longer valid.” Instead of ending his career, he continued and won his third Olympic gold medal in Savannah (USA/Georgia) in 1996. The field dominated: the German boat won 3-0 in the semifinals against England and in the final against Russia. “We are the best,” said Schümann.
The 2000 Olympics in Sydney still keeps him busy to this day
In parallel with Olympic sailing, Schümann also oriented himself towards the America’s Cup from 1992 onwards. Daimler-Benz wants to compete in the world’s biggest sailing competition with Germany’s “AeroSail” campaign.
But when Daimler left in 1995 after the change of CEO Edzard Reuter (†96) to Jürgen Schrempp (81), this caused a lot of frustration for Schümann. However, his involvement abroad was noticed. The Swiss project “Fast 2000” brought him in. Problem: There was so much chaos that Schümann returned to attack the 2000 Olympics in Sydney to deal with his frustration. “It was a bad experience, but also a big lesson for the next cup campaign,” said Schümann.
He started at Soling with a new crew of Gunnar Bahr and Ingo Borkowski. His crew was actually the best, but his own mistakes cost him gold in the duel with Denmark. “I still sometimes have moments of sleeplessness to this day,” Schümann said. “Then it occurred to us what we should have done differently. We should have won.”
Alinghi: The beginning of an amazing project
Now the Olympics are finally over. While still attending a match in Sydney, New Zealand’s Russell Coutts spoke to him in a confidential conversation: “Actually, after the first bad experience in the Cup, I got fed up and decided not to do it again. But Russell convinced me.”
The Alinghi project was designed on a white sheet of paper in a hotel room in Geneva with team owner Ernesto Bertarelli. So Schümann moved to Switzerland and took on an extraordinary project with a new team. In three years’ time they want to beat defending champions New Zealand and the world’s elite teams.
In the end, Alinghi, with Coutts as leader and Schümann as strategist, performed so well that the team dominated the New Zealand team 5-0 in the final on their home ground in the Hauraki Gulf off the coast of Auckland. “We make the impossible possible,” says Schümann. “We are learners and learn faster. This is a great team that has even more potential.” The Swiss crew then retained the title in 2007 with a 5–2 win against New Zealand, topping Valencia as there was no suitable water in Switzerland.
When Schümann did not get a new contract with Alinghi, he briefly moved to Germany’s United Internet Team Germany as team boss. The campaign was disbanded in 2008. He captained the French-German ALL4ONE Challenge, which, however, did not take part in the cup.
Schümann becomes world champion again in 2024
Until now, Schümann is still closely associated with shipping. He helped young Germans find sponsors for the Youth and Women’s America’s Cup and was a mentor. “I cleaned the door there,” Schümann said. “The economic environment for the Big Cup is very difficult. We have to find someone positive and crazy to handle it.”
He continued to be much sought after as an advisor to ambitious captains. In 2024, as tactician on the yacht “Olymp” off the coast of Palma de Mallorca, he again became world champion in the ClubSwan50 class – a 16.74 meter long boat with a crew of twelve. There he supported owner and helmsman Mark Bezner, a former competitive swimmer. “Winning is still fun,” Schümann said. He also took part in the 2025 European Championships – third place in Scarlino/Italy.
“It’s profitable and I enjoy it, but I’m slowly cutting back on these projects,” says Schümann. “I’m not getting any younger.” He now has less than 50 sailing days per year. “I still sail on Lake Starnberg for fun,” said the three-time Olympic champion, who lives south of Munich in Penzberg. “It remains a passion.”
But he doesn’t have his own boat: “I promised that to my wife,” said the Olympic champion. “My demands on the ship were too high, and I wanted to be more willing to help my family. They’ve sacrificed quite a lot over the decades,” he added with a laugh. “I no longer need the boat I look after as another member of the family.”
This article was created for the Sports Competence Center (WELT, “Bild”, “Sport Bild”) and was first published in “Sport Bild”.
