Noelle Finch clinched victory in the RS:X windsurfing U17 fleet on the final day of racing at the 2011 RS:X Youth World Windsurfing Championships on Friday (28 October), with further podium glory for British sailors in the RS:X and Techno 293 classes taking the GBR medal tally to five in Cagliari, Sardinia.

Over the course of the five day regatta (24-28 October) which witnessed 115 RS:X  boards take to the waters in strong winds and big waves, Noelle Finch was in fine form from the word go in the RS:X class. The 16-year-old from Clevedon, North Somerset posted some impressive results in the 39 strong female fleet, in which 22 raced as Under 17's.

A continuous battle between Finch and Shani Rottenberg from Israel was evident across the ten races which took place. However, the GBR youngster who previously won the U17 title at the RS:X Europeans last month, went into the final day with a six point cushion on her closet rival in the hunt for the U17 gold medal.

With Rottenberg (Israel) the only girl capable of taking gold from Finch's grasp, the RYA Volvo National Junior Squad windsurfer did enough to finish ahead of Rottenberg to add the U17 RS:X Youth World Windsurfing title to her ever growing trophy cabinet. Finch finished a credible sixth overall in the RS:X female fleet.

The 2011 RS:X Youth World U17 Champion commented: "After winning the U17 European title in Bulgaria in September, my goal for the Worlds was to finish in the top 50% of the fleet, so I was ecstatic with the end result.

"There was a real mix of conditions throughout the week and the competition was stiff. Racing the older U19 girls was a real challenge and the U17 girl from Israel was also a strong competitor for me. I had, however, raced some of them at the Europeans so I sort of knew what I was up against. To be finishing races in such challenging conditions and to be competing at the top end of the fleet with competitors a lot older than myself was very pleasing.

Finch concluded: "The medal race was great and my main aim was to keep in front of the U17 girl from Israel and hopefully maintain a solid performance and my position in the U19 fleet. Having this event later on in the year has helped me to create some clear goals for the winter training, ready for the next season!"