The successful defender: Claire Leroy retains world champ
Sunday 6 April, on the Waitemata Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, Claire Leroy of France secured her second consecutive world championship title in the sport of women’s match racing.
American Liz Baylis took silver, and Silja Lehtinen of Finland bronze in a frustrating day that was mostly spent waiting for the wind to arrive, meaning that final placings for the split at 1st and 3rd place were determined on countback.
Leroy, who at 28 years of age and representing Sport Nautique de Saint Quay Portrieux, is current Rolex World Yachtswoman of the Year. She has been virtually untouchable in her recent match racing career, hanging on tight to the Number One spot in the Women’s ISAF World Match Race Rankings since May 2005.
“We are feeling very good, very emotional,” she says. “It’s a great moment. We had a cry.”
