Af: Torben Houborg
Århus, Denmark – 17 July, 2008 – The records tumbled at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship with all seven titles decided, Great Britain secured the Volvo Trophy and a new generation of sailing stars emerged in Århus.
credit: onEdition
Great Britain's Frances Peters and Claire Lasko, 29er class, on the 4th racing day of this years Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship. Cyprus and Great Britain won two titles, with the others going to Australia, France and Italy on a record breaking day in Århus, Denmark. Great Britain is in an unbeatable position in the Volvo Trophy standings and therefore wins the title for the best performing nation at the Youth Worlds for the first time since 1996.
Pavlos Kontides (CYP) became the first ever two-time winner of the ISAF St Lawrence Trophy, presented to the winner of the Boy’s One Person Dinghy event – an incredible achievement considering the sailors to have come closest to it in the past (by winning one gold and one silver medal) are Russell Coutts (NZL), Ben Ainslie (GBR), Dean Barker (NZL) and Dan Slater (NZL)! Kontides did not have his best day today, but has dominated the Laser fleet throughout the series to win with two races to spare.
Kontides explained, “It hasn’t sunk in yet that I have won. I can’t believe that two people from my country is in the top ten, that is great. I had a bad last race today but it didn’t matter in the end. I was fifth from last at the top mark because of a massive wind shift but managed to get back to 16th or 17th so I was happy. This is my fifth and last Youth Worlds and I can’t believe I am the only person to win two gold medals.”
After five years at the Youth Worlds, next stop for Kontides will be Qingdao, China, where he will represent Cyprus at the Beijing Olympic Games. After 30 years at the Youth Worlds, as GBR then ISAF World Youth Trust Sailing Coach, Jim Saltonstall is better placed than anyone to assess the potential of this future star. “He’s really like another Ben Ainslie; as Ben was for GBR, Pavlos is for Cyprus. It won’t surprise me at all if he doesn’t win a medal in China because he’s quite capable of doing that.”
Luke Lawrence (USA) also secured the silver medal in the Laser fleet, whilst the battle for bronze will go down to the final day. Sam Meech moved into third place overall after a disastrous day for Århus local Thorbjoern Schierup (DEN). The Dane got caught on the wrong side of the same wind shift that caught out Kontides, eventually finishing 36th to drop to fourth overall, five points off the podium.
Another record breaker today was Laura Linares of Italy. She won her third consecutive title in the Girl’s Windsurfer event on the RS:X and became the first sailor in the 38-year history of the event to win five Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship medals. Like Kontides, Linares dominated the series from start to finish only once finishing outside of the top-two places.
“Five ISAF’s, five medals. Unbelievable. It’s really fantastic results and I’m really satisfied and really happy. I realized my dream. It’s unbelievable. I can’t believe it,” said a delighted Linares. In the battle for the remaining podium spots, just two points separate Maja Dziarnowska (POL) and Patricia Freitas (BRA) in second and third place respectively.
Gabrielle King made it a triple success for the Kingston gold medallists, defending her title in the Laser Radial with another superb performance. King scored her fourth and fifth bullets of the championship in today’s two races to take the title in style. “I thought after day two it was a possibility to win and then the wind gods looked down on me and things kept going my way and it has ended up with this win. This is the best event I love it,” said the ecstatic young Australian. Susana Romero of Spain currently lies in the silver medal position, just four points ahead of New Zealand’s Cushla Hume-Merry.
The British teams scored a double victory in the 29er fleets. The Girl’s team of Frances Peters and Claire Lasko were delighted to have the gold medal in the bag after the second race of the day. They were mostly pleased about the consistency throughout the week’s competition. They were disappointed with their performance at the Youth Nationals despite winning the event because they felt they could have done better but here was a different story. Peters commented, "It hasn't sunk in yet. It is a relief because this is what we have been working towards for so long. Seven hours out on the water in December has finally paid off and it is all worth while now. This is why we did all that training and worked so hard.”
Annemiek Bekkering and Jeske Kisters of the Netherlands have also secured the silver medal, whilst Hannah Nattrass and Michelle Muller are well placed to repeat their third place finish of last year.
James Peters, brother of Frances, and Edward Fitzgerald won Great Britain’s second gold medal in the Boy’s 29er fleet. It had looked like being a final day shootout between the Brits and the USA crew of Judge Ryan and Hans Henken, but the Americans were disqualified from race 13 after a protest from the French team, putting Peters and Fitzgerald into an unbeatable position at the top of the leaderboard. Germán Billoch and Gastón Cheb Terrab of Argentina lie in third place overall and will be looking to challenge for the silver medal tomorrow.
The French SL 16 sailors Valentin and Romain Bellet are also celebrating overall victory in the multihull SL16 class although refused to celebrate a day early and are concentrating on a good position tomorrow in the last race of the series. Romain Bellet, just 15 years old and the younger of the two brothers, said, “I still want to gain points for the Volvo Trophy. We don’t feel we have totally won until we go for the collective achievement tomorrow.”
The South Africans Matthew Whitehead and Micheal Ovenstone were covering the French all day in true match racing style and won their first race putting two boats in-between them and the French. But the French pair managed to get away from them on the last downwind leg of second race leaving them in seventh and the Bellet brothers in first. Romain Bellet explained, “Going downwind we gybed. The South Africans did not follow – they should have!” Whitehead and Ovenstone now have a four point lead over the nearest rivals James Ellis and Andrew Glover of Great Britain with Simon Michaelsen and Jacob Dannefer of Denmark a further four points behind.
Michalis Malekkides won a second gold medal for Cyprus in the boy’s windsurfer fleet. After a tough day yesterday, he was back to best in today’s stronger winds. “The conditions here were like Cyprus, especially the first and the second day when it was windy. They’re the conditions I know very well and that helped me,” said Malekkides, who at just 16 years old, said his aim now is to defend his title at next year’s Youth Worlds in Buzios, Brazil.
Malekkides won race 10, but with his close rival and training partner Thiseas Kampas (GRE) in third, the pair were only separated by five points in the overall standings. The decisive action came in race 11, when Malekkides took a gamble out to the left of the first downwind, caught a gust and accelerated from six to second. He maintained that position across the finishing line and the title was his as Kampas struggled across the line in 14th. Despite that finish, Kampas hold on to second overall, although Germany’s Oliver-Tom Schliemann is just six points further back.
Tomorrow is the final day of the 2008 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship, the 38th edition of the event. One race is scheduled for each event, and although the gold medal winners have already been decided, there are still plenty of podium positions up for grabs.
In the battle for the Volvo Trophy, Great Britain current lies on 336 points, with the last year’s winners Australia climbing up to tie for second place with New Zealand on 304 points. As the GBR 29er crews have already secured at least 12 points in race 12, Great Britain holds on unbeatable lead and tomorrow will lift the Volvo Trophy tomorrow for the third time. France is fourth in the national standings, just behind Australia and New Zealand, with the host nation Denmark in fifth, just ahead of hosts of next year’s championship, Brazil.
Day 4
Af: Torben Houborg
Århus, Denmark – 16 July, 2008 – The top five places in the 29er boys, RS:X girls, Laser Radials and the SL16 are getting tighter with only two days left of the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships. The breeze was lighter on the Bay of Århus allowing for more of the sailors to excel as the conditions eased for them. The race committee set three races for each class today to catch up on those lost on the first day.
The British girls still rule the 29er class as Frances Peters and Claire Lasko posted a 2, 1 and 3 on the fourth day of racing of the Championships. The Swedish team of Sara Engström and Hanna Dahlborg didn’t have a great day on the water with a 5, 5, 4 which made them drop down to fourth from third. Engström commented after racing, “We were not happy with today but at least we are sailing more consistently now which is good. With only two more days it will be very close for all of us at the top.” The Australians Hannah Natrass and Michelle Muller, bronze medallists last year, moved into third with a two firsts and a ninth which they dropped as the second discard comes into play.
In the boy’s fleet the American’s Judge Ryan and Hans Henken had a great day with a 1, 2, 3 bringing them to the top of the pile. Henken explained how they started slow but placed themselves well in the lighter breeze. “We played the shifts downwind well and getting top three positions today was a great achievement.” James Peters and Edward Fitzgerald (GBR) where pushed down to second but are only a point behind the leaders. Australians Bryon White and Rhys Mara are now in third on 37 points, 14 points behind, with Germán Billoch and Gastón Cheb Terrab of Argentina six points behind them.
France dominates the SL16 fleet for a second day with brothers Valentin and Romain Bellet winning two races and scoring a third in the last of the day. The South Africans Matthew Whitehead and Michael Ovenstone are still in second but posted a 7, 2 and a 9. “We had a bad day today and it didn’t help it was a very long day. The Singapore and New Zealand guys are back on form, which is good to see,” said Ovenstone. The third placed GBR team of James Ellis and Andrew Glover are only two points ahead of the Danes Simon Michael and Jacob Dannefer and just one point behind the South Africans. With three races left in the series there is a lot to win and lose.
With the wind shifting in direction and speed throughout the day, consistency was key to success in the windsurfer fleets as both the light and heavy wind specialists had a chance to shine. Thiseas Kampas of Greece was the standout performer in the Boy’s RS:X fleet, closing the gap on the overall leader - also his good friend and training partner - Michalis Malekkides of Cyprus to just three points. Great final runs helped Kampas make up vital places to score second and third positions in races 7 and 8 before he sacrificed first place in the day’s final race to force Malekkides to the wrong side of the course. The strategy worked as the Cypriot posted an 11th place, his worst score of the regatta, whilst Kampas again finished strongly take fourth place. Kampas said his performance today, particularly his strong finishes, were principally down to a more confident approach, “I didn’t have it [confidence] the days before because I was so nervous, because of the wind I was saying oh no, it’s high winds again. But today I said to myself, ‘okay I’m here to fight, to fight until the end’ and that’s what I did.”
Laura Linares (ITA) had another stellar day in the girl’s RS:X fleet, with a second place followed by her fifth and sixth bullets of the regatta. With just three races remaining and no score worse than a fifth the Italian looks well on the way to a third consecutive Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship title. Maja Dziarnowska (POL) and Patricia Freitas (BRA) continue to battle it out behind the leader, with just two points separating them in second and third place respectively.
Pavlos Kontides (CYP) had a rare blip today with a fifth in race 8, but sandwiched between a bullet and a second place it did nothing to affect his dominant position at the top of the Laser standings. Luke Lawrence tightened his grip in second place with a win the day’s final race, whilst Denmark’s Thorbjoern Schierup remains in third. Schierup said back in the dinghy park, “I've mixed feelings about today. The gap up to second has opened up, but at the same time I’m more isolated in third. But I had by far preferred to have the chance to fight my way up the list instead of defending the third spot.”
Like Kontides, Australia’s Gabrielle King is looking odds on to defend the title she won last year in Kingston. She added a third bullet to her scoreline and maintained her run of all top-five finishes to extend her overall lead in the Laser Radial fleet. Susana Romero of Spain admitted she still hasn’t got to grips with the changeable conditions in the Bay but nevertheless won the day’s final race to propel herself up the leaderboard. The young Spaniard is aiming for a confidence boosting performance in Denmark before heading to Qingdao, China where she will represent Spain at the Olympic Games.
Tomorrow two races (three for the 29ers) are scheduled for each event, starting at 12:00 local time. With just one race remaining for each fleet on the final day of the championship on Friday, victory is within grasp for some of the fleet leaders setting the scene for an exciting penultimate day in Århus.
2008-07-18