Event Summary: Valerie Ghibaudo hoisst the French flag in Korea.
Valerie Ghibaudo (Loft Sails / Tabou) delivered an outstanding performance to claim victory in her respective fleet.
Valerie Ghibaudo dominates in Korea/photo PWA
The event is now in its third year on the PWA World Tour, and is currently the only event to take place in Asia. Competing from the 16th-22nd of May, racing took place on the waters off Jinha Beach, in south eastern Korea.
Over the course of the week long event, there were two full days of racing, powered by the local south western thermal wind, which was gusting up to 22 knots both days.
Competitors had to wait until competition’s third day before Jinha Beach awoke to show its true colors, delivering side shore wind under blue sky.
The women’s fleet were first to christen the race course, with Sarah Hebert (Starboard / Naish) setting the early pace: “The first race was really light, but I got a good start so I was leading from the beginning. After that I managed to stay in front and make some good gybes. I was pumping a lot to make sure I was going fast. It’s the first time I’ve won competing against Valerie (Ghibaudo) and Karin (Jaggi).”
The second women’s clash saw Valerie Ghibaudo muscle her way to the front of the pack to claim her first race win: “I got a really nice start, but it was hard conditions. Sometimes it was really light and then there were really strong gusts. Luckily I managed to hold on and win, but I think I made a lot of mistakes”
However, stealing the show was Karin Jaggi (F2 / Severne), who displayed composure to win the remaining two races and in turn take the early event lead.
Day four in Korea saw conditions switch back on to resume racing. The subsequent three women’s races saw utter domination from Valerie Ghibaudo, as she executed back to back wins to firmly cement her name at the top of the women’s rankings.
Chasing, Karin Jaggi and Alice Arutkin did their best to pressure Ghibaudo, but had to settle for the remaining podium positions as toppling the on-form French sailor proved to be impossible.
The PWA would like to express enormous thanks to the Ulsan Broadcasting Corporation and all the sponsors of this event, and we look forward to returning in 2010 for the fourth PWA Ulsan World Cup.
The 2009 PWA Ulsan World Cup results:
Slalom Women
1 Valérie Ghibaudo (Loft Sails / Tabou Boards) 2 Karin Jaggi (F2 / Severne Sails) 3 Alice Arutkin (Starboard / North Sails) 4 Sarah Hebert (Starboard / Naish Sails) 5 Lena Erdil (Starboard / Loft Sails)
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