With the calendar switched to an Olympic year, the intensity on the water at the 2016 Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella is a match for the famously bright South Florida sun. In less than 200 days, many of the nearly 800 sailors gathered in Coconut Grove this week will walk in the Opening Ceremonies of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. For the sailors with a confirmed spot in the Olympic Regatta, this event is about sharpening their tactical game, refining their equipment and improving their conditioning. Others have a more immediate focus as they are in the midst of a selection series for their respective countries or working to qualify their country for the Olympic regatta.
Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, USA is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.
“There’s a lot at stake this year at Sailing World Cup Miami,” said Josh Adams, Managing Director of U.S. Olympic Sailing. “For the first time in the event’s 27-year history, it’s being used as part of the U.S. selection process and part of country qualification process for the 2016 Olympic Games.”
For American sailors in eight of the Olympic classes and the 2.4mR, this event is the first of two events that will determine the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team for this summer’s Games.
The Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella is the second event in the six-regatta 2016 Sailing World Cup. Competition in US Sailing’s premiere racing event gets underway this Monday in all 10 Olympic classes and two of three Paralympic classes. Saturday’s Medal Races will be carried live on ESPN3.
The Olympic classes competing this week will be: Laser Radial (women), Laser (men), Finn (men), Men’s RS:X, Women’s RS:X, 49er (men), Men’s 470, Women’s 470, Nacra 17 (mixed) and 49erFX (women). Paralympic classes included are the 2.4mR (open, Para World Sailing) and Sonar (open, Para World Sailing).
Befitting an event of this magnitude, this evening athletes, volunteers and regatta officials participated in an Opening Ceremony on the lawn of the Coral Reef Yacht Club. The 68 national flags ringing the lawn—and the variety of languages heard in the various boat parks—are a stirring reminder of the global popularity of this event. The event record of 855 sailors, which was set last year, is safe; the 2016 edition of the Sailing World Cup will rank third in terms of attendance. The 68 nations attending breaks the record set in 2015.
Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, USA is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.
“Sailing World Cup Miami is a pivotal event for Olympic sailors on the road to Rio. The caliber of the athletes that will be on show in Miami is exceptional and many of the medalists here will be on the Olympic podium in August,” said Sailing World Cup Manager, Antonio Gonzalez de la Madrid. “Racing in Miami in January provides a welcome respite for the European sailors looking to escape the European winter. We have World Champions Giulia Conti and Francesca Clapcich (ITA) in the 49erFX, Billy Besson and Marie Riou (FRA) in the Nacra 17 and Danish Laser Radial star Anne Marie Rindom. That’s to name but a few in the world class fields we have on show in the ten Olympic and two Paralympic events.”
The trickle down of having all these top international athletes training and racing in the United States every January should not be understated.
“The training leading up to this regatta is at a very high level,” said Adams. “For the US Sailing Team Sperry and our overall Olympic program, there’s great value in this event. Our athletes are able to go out and train against the world’s best.”
Racing gets underway tomorrow at 10 a.m. (EST), weather providing and will run until the late afternoon each day through Friday. Saturday’s double-point medal races—a shorter sprint for glory with just the top 10 sailors in each class competing—will start at 11 a.m., and be broadcast live on ESPN3.
The final day at ISAF Sailing World Cup Qingdao was filled with tension as the Medal Races decided the podium places, Rio 2016 Olympic qualification spots and Abu Dhabi World Cup Final positions.
Alongside this, sailors in the top three in each fleet receive a share of the 150,000 Euro prize fund.
Light wind and strong current has been a regularity throughout the week with those reading the conditions to full effect reaping the rewards. A 5-7 south eastern breeze made for a tense finale with sailors aiming to leave nothing on the water.
Chinese sailors dominated the day taking gold in the Men’s 470, Finn, Laser Radial and the Men’s and Women’s RS:X. Meanwhile, Singapore’s Justin Liu and Denise Lim in the Nacra 17, Laser sailor Lorenzo Chiavarini (GBR) and Japan’s Women’s 470 team took the spoils in their fleets.
Nacra 17
Singapore’s Justin Liu and Denise Lim stylishly wrapped up gold in the Nacra 17 with a Medal Race victory. It was their tenth race win of the week and with gold, they have qualified Singapore for a Rio 2016 Nacra 17 spot.
The pair revelled in Qingdao’s light air and with conditions in the Medal Race similar to the days prior, the odds were in their favour. Liu and Lim worked their way through the fleet during the Medal Race and finished 51 seconds clear of Japan’s Hiroki Goto and Wakako Tabata.
Throughout the week the Singaporeans remained coy about their chances, not taking anything for granted. When they crossed the finish there was visible sense of a relief that was quickly overtaken by joy as they let the celebrations commence.
“It’s amazing,” said Liu through a beaming smile. “There were so many challenges to make it here and to try and qualify the country. To be able to do it is amazing. It’ll be our first Olympics so there is so much to look forward to.”
Lim added, “We sailed the conditions quite well, and with our coaches help, he helped us a lot with the current and the wind changes and I think that gave us an advantage over the rest.”
Whilst the Singaporeans can look forward, the teams from China, Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand were understandably disappointed. A world cup silver and bronze for Zijin Wen and Rubei Yuan (CHN) and Tat Choi Fung and Yu Ting Chan (HKG) were mere consolation with Olympic dreams filling their head in advance of the competition.
Japan’s Goto and Tabata had beaten their main rivals in several key regattas building up to Qingdao but the big breeze that they excel in failed to kick in in Qingdao as they finished fifth overall.
Nonetheless, Goto remained complimentary to the Singaporeans and has an eye on the future, “I have to take my hat off to the Singapore team. It was light wind and they totally dominated. They sailed the wind so well.
“My aim was to inspire the next generation of Nacra sailors, and the next Olympic Sailing [Competition] will be in my home town of Enoshima. I will be there, hopefully as a coach because I have young people asking me to help them, so this is good. I’m not happy now but we have to look to the future for everyone.”
The Olympic Games aims to inspire generation after generation and with key inspirations such as Hiroki Goto driving the sport and multihull sailing forward, watch out for a high flying Japanese Nacra 17 team at Tokyo 2020.
Men’s and Women’s 470
Meanwhile in the Women’s 470 there was cause for Japanese merriment as the team snapped up gold and silver respectively.
Ai Kondo Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka (JPN) held onto their overnight lead whilst a second in the Medal Race promoted Akiyo Yamaguchi and Eri Hatayama (JPN) into silver medal position.
As Yamaguchi and Hatayama crossed the finished line there were smiles stretched across their faces with high fives aplenty. Kondo Yoshida and Yoshioka followed behind them in third and revelled in their compatriots’ celebrations with grins creeping in before they finished.
It was a tense race in the light breeze for all the competitors and the points were close going into the race. Xiaoli Wang and Lizhu Huang (CHN) were breathing down the Kondo Yoshida and Yoshioka’s necks but the Japanese experience shone through as they remained calm as Kondo Yoshida explained, “Today there was a two point lead for us against the Chinese team who were our closest rivals. We got the win and we are very very happy.”
Shasha Chen and Haiyan Gao (CHN) completed the Women’s 470 podium.
It was a three way shoot out in the Men’s 470 between the Austrian, Chinese and Spanish teams. Four points separated them going into the Medal Race and it was China’s Hao Lan and Chao Wang who prevailed.
Lan and Wang finished second in the Medal Race compared to overnight leader David Bargehr and David Mahr’s fourth (AUT) and Onan Barreiros and Juan Curbelo Cabrera’s (ESP) third. As a result the Austrians were made to settle for silver, one point behind the Chinese with the Spaniards rounding off the podium.
“There is a little bit of a mixture between happy and disappointed,” explained Bargehr. “But overall the happy feeling is superior because we won a medal here and it’s always good to win a medal.
“We knew that points were very close with not much separation so we knew we had to sail a really good Medal Race to win this event.
“After the race you are always more clever than before, but it was a really tight Medal Race and it could have gone either way. And always you need a little bit of luck in a Medal Race.”
Laser and Laser Radial
The advantage going into the Laser Medal Race belonged to Great Britain’s Lorenzo Chiavarini as he owned a 17 point lead. He delivered the goods with a sixth place finish to complete a comfortable victory.
“I was a bit nervous coming into the day,” explained the British sailor, “but once I got out on the water everything started calming down.
“The race track was shorter so the gains were less today. Tiredness was also another point of the day but for me it was important to keep Tonci [Stipanovic] around me and not let him go too far.”
Croatia’s Stipanovic needed the to go massively in his favour if he was to overthrow Chiavarini. The British sailor controlled him and kept the Croatian behind him throughout the race with Stipanovic finishing second overall.
The Medal Race victory went the way of Pavlos Kontides (CYP) who moved up into the bronze medal position.
Chinese Laser Radial sailor Dongshuang Zhang loves sailing in Qingdao. She took her third consecutive victory at the event with another professional performance.
Zhang finished second in the Medal Race which confirmed her as gold medallist after the second placed Isabella Bertold (CAN) finished eighth overall.
Despite finishing 17 points clear of her rivals, taking another World Cup gold medal, 12,000 Euros in prize money and booking a spot at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final Zhang was less than impressed with her performance as she explained, “The race went very well, better than yesterday. I’m not very satisfied with the regatta, I made a lot of small mistakes which I will work on little by little.”
Men’s and Women’s RS:X
It was double gold for China in the Men’s and Women’s RS:X with Chunzuang Liu and Jiahui Wu clinching gold in their respected fleets.
Wu led the Women’s RS:X fleet from the first day but heading into the Medal Race Peina Chen (CHN) was firmly in contention, just six points off the leader. Chen finished one place ahead of Wu in the Medal Race but it wasn’t enough to topple her as Wu sealed gold.
“There was little wind and a lot of pumping,” explained Wu after racing, “but I am very happy with the win. It was a great competition for me and the less wind suited my style.”
Pei Ling Chen (CHN) took the Medal Race victory to pick up bronze.
Experienced Spanish racer Blanca Manchon finished in eighth but was upbeat after racing with lots of lessons learnt from Qingdao’s challenging current, “I had two OCS this week, I was risking a lot because I came here for training so it was good for me to try a little risk on the starts, but with the currents it was hard to be on the line and sometimes I just made a mistake. If I didn’t have that second OCS I would have finished third so I am happy.
“This place is totally different to Spain. It’s funny. It’s a different culture and wind so it was good. There was not much wind but it was great for my training.”
Not much separated the Men’s RS:X fleet throughout the Medal Race with tensions high but Liu managed to put himself in a good position. A second place confirmed his gold medal and upon crossing the finish line he let out a triumphant, “woohoo.”
Once ashore Liu said, “I performed really well, better than normal. Over the regatta there has been good and bad, but overall it has been good and I have learned a lot. We have made great progress as a nation in windsurfing with tough exercises.”
Bing Ye (CHN) and Zhichao Zang (CHN) complete the podium.
Sailing World Cup Qingdao
Finn
China’s Lei Gong overthrew Luwen Shen in the Finn to snap up a hard earned gold medal.
Gong and Shen battled hard throughout the week with very little separating them on the race track. The advantage belonged to Shen going into the Medal Race as he led Gong by five points.
However it was Gong’s experience that shone through in the Medal Race as he took a convincing bullet with Shen sailing through in fourth. One point was the difference at the end of the day.
For China’s Finn team it was a job well done throughout the week as they booked the nation a spot at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Attention now turns to the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final that is scheduled to take place from 27 October to 1 November 2015 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The best placed Asian and International sailors from ISAF Sailing World Cup Qingdao have booked their spot on the start line with the remaining sailors to be invited based on the ISAF World Sailing Rankings that will be released on 21 September.
Sailors and officials were welcomed to the 2015 edition of ISAF Sailing World Cup Qingdao at the opening ceremony on Tuesday 15 September.
More than 300 sailors from 32 nations have completed registration and are ready to race out of the venue of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition.
ISAF Sailing World Cup Qingdao is the fifth regatta of the 2015 series and is the final qualification regatta in the build up to the 2015 Abu Dhabi ISAF Sailing World Cup Final. Whoever wins in each fleet will book their spot on the Abu Dhabi start line and the competition is set to be fierce over four days of fleet racing and Sunday’s Medal Race.
ISAF Sailing World Cup Qingdao Opens
Alongside Abu Dhabi qualification spots, sailors will be gunning for a share of the 150,000 Euro prize fund as well as an ISAF Sailing World Cup medal. For Asian sailors in the Men’s and Women’s 470, Finn and Nacra 17, Qingdao holds extra significance as it is the qualifier for Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition. Across the four fleets, sailors from China, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand will all be aiming to book a Rio 2016 spot.
Ahead of racing, sailors had a few final moments of relaxation at the opening ceremony and were treated to a cultural dance, traditional song from a local children’s choir as well as local cuisine.
During the opening ceremony ISAF Technical Delegate, Antonio González de la Madrid said, “On behalf of ISAF I would like to thank the city of Qingdao for the incredible welcome that you have shown all the sailors and officials who have come here.
“It is the third time Qingdao has hosted an ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta and it is very important for ISAF to continue our strong relationship with the Chinese Yachting Association and the Qingdao Municipal Government.
“The organizing committee have done an outstanding job in preparation for ISAF Sailing World Cup Qingdao and we have more than 230 sailors from 32 nations in attendance, highlighting the strength of the event as it continues to grow.
ISAF Sailing World Cup Qingdao Opens
“This week, the sailors will be aiming to qualify for the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi, claim a share of the prize fund as well as sealing an ISAF Sailing World Cup medal.
“Alongside this, ISAF Sailing World Cup Qingdao is an important step on the road to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Asian sailors in the Men’s and Women’s 470, Finn and Nacra 17 will be aiming to qualify their nation for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
“The Olympic Games can leave an amazing legacy within each host nation and it’s excellent to see the legacy of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games lives strong here, in Qingdao, China’s Sailing City.”
With the forecast set to be fair for the opening day of racing on Wednesday 16 September sailors will take to the water from 10:30 onwards in preparation for a 12:00 local time start.
Bigger than ever in 2015, with an atmosphere crackling with adrenaline, the ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, Presented by Sunbrella, was ground zero on Sunday as competitors from 63 countries made their final preparations.
US Sailing’s premiere event brings together a who’s who of Olympic and Paralympic talent. Six days of racing will test them and leave them judged. Australia’s silver-medallist 470 skipper of last year, Mat Belcher, summed up that experience by saying simply that being on that racecourse, with that fleet, “was essential.” Essential, that is, to anyone who hopes to be standing on a podium in Rio de Janeiro at the 2016 Olympic Games.
With as many as 800 sailors entered, the 26th year of this event sets a record for participation. The ISAF Sailing World Cup, presented by Sunbrella, is the only U.S. stop on the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup series. Melbourne, Australia kicked off the first of six events, with successful sailors earning qualification spots and ranking points toward a World Cup finale in Abu Dhabi late in 2015.
ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP MIAMI 2015-Sunday prerace boat prep. US SAILING Center Miami
All 10 Olympic and three Paralympic classes named to the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games are racing here. The 10 Olympic classes are: Laser Radial (women), Laser (men), Finn (men), Men’s RS:X, Women’s RS:X, 49er (men), 49er FX (women), Men’s 470, Women’s 470, and Nacra 17 catamaran (mixed). Paralympic classes included are: 2.4mR, SKUD-18 and Sonar.
ISAF medals, gold, silver and bronze, will be awarded to the top three boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class on Saturday, January 31. Competitors in the Paralympic classes will have five days of fleet racing (Monday-Friday) with no Medal Race.
Antonio González de la Madrid, ISAF Technical Delegate, is pleased, he said, “To see so many sailors from South America and the Caribbean. These are countries that are not represented so much in racing in Europe. Looking ahead, the forecast for breeze is good; much better than the extreme light air we had last year; so we face fewer challenges there. We do have challenges on the Laser course because we have a wealth of entries, and we have to split the fleet. But we have the best race officials in the world working on behalf of the best sailors in the world and we’ll be fine.”
Reflecting upon the decision some years ago to locate an Olympic Training Site here, Josh Adams, Managing Director of US Olympic Sailing, observed, “A turnout this large and this competitive confirms that Miami is a preferred venue for Olympic and Paralympic competition. The heat is rising as we come closer to the 2016 Games in Rio, and we’ll see the evidence on the water this week.”
The 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami is presented by Sunbrella, with gold sponsors Beneteau, Jenneau and Lagoon Catamarans. Silver sponsors are Sperry, Chubb Personal Insurance and the City of Miami. Supplier sponsors are Harken, McLube, CRSA, the University of Miami Health Sports Medicine, Vetus Maxwell and Adventure Sports.
Isaf Youth Worlds_Day 3_SL16-1-6 ISAF Media Library
Athlete Participation Programme Thrives In Tavira’s Sunshine
The ISAF Athlete Participation Programme (APP) continues to go from success to success with 22 sailors from 16 nations supported at the 2014 ISAF Youth Worlds.
APP has been running since 2002 and has given over 150 sailors the opportunity to compete at the premier youth sailing regatta. Thanks to APP funding Tanzania are represented at the ISAF Youth Worlds for the first time in 2014 and in total has helped 11 nations to compete at the event for the first time.
Antonio Gonzalez de la Madrid, ISAF Youth Worlds Technical Delegate, explained what APP is all about, “This is a programme we started in 2002 and what we are trying to achieve is to help some countries to attend this event. For them it is great because it is the first time they can be in a top level event with the best sailors and it’s their first experience.
“It’s great for them to have sailors from all around the world, all the continents and different cultures to build friendships, have dinner together and learn some more about sailing and enjoy the week.”
Many of the competitors come to the ISAF Youth Worlds alone but with the support of a close knit group and expert coaching from World Youth Sailing Trust coach, Hugh Styles, they have adapted to their environment.
Latvian APP sailor Ricards Zvilna is using the ISAF Youth Worlds to build up to the Santander 2014 ISAF Worlds this September and is enjoying the company of his fellow competitors, “There are a lot of nice people here and everybody is really friendly. I love it. Having Hugh is pretty important because otherwise I would be left completely alone without a coach. He looks out for me and I think I would be no where without him.”
Romania’s Tarkan Bolat is flying his nation’s flag for only the second time at the ISAF Youth Worlds like Zvilna is loving life, “It’s the first time I’m in this programme and they helped me to come here because my country couldn’t afford to send somebody here. They’ve made my dream come true to participate in a such a great regatta where everybody can only send one sailor.”
For Netherlands Antilles sailor Kristie Van Der Woude, APP has opened up her eyes to new cultures, “I’m from a very small Island and there’s only the people that live there and you meet them and know them but I’d never have been able to meet anyone from Mozambique or Zimbabwe on my island but I have now.
“Having a coach is really good because I’m not that good yet and he can help explain what’s happening with the wind and I can catch on faster.”
ISAF helps to support the APP sailors by helping to pay for the entry fee and travel costs to give them opportunities they may not have previously had.
2013 Sail Fisrt ISAF Youth Sailing Worlds – Practice Race by International Sailing Federation Media Library
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