Shake Ups And Surprises Decides Medals At Youth Sailing World Championships

The final day of the 45th Youth Sailing World Championships produced some tense finishes as medal places were mixed about on the waters of Langkawi, Malaysia.

Lighter winds awaited the record 425 sailors from 76 nations to end a regatta that has seen a constant 20 knots throughout. With the wind halved, tactics and surprises were in store and that proved to be the case with several shake ups having big bearings on who left with a medal.

The gold medal in the boy’s Laser Radial and 420 were already decided, with some of the sailors in other fleets knowing they had a medal, just not what colour it would be. There were also some who had a medal in their grasp, but just couldn’t quite hold on at the last.

29er

There were twists and turns in the girl’s 29er as the last race caused a shake-up at the top. However, it was Finland’s Sirre Kronlof and Veera Hokka who were celebrating at the end.

The Finnish team used up their drop in the final race, finishing 15th but it was enough to take home gold. Back ashore it was down to Kronlof to put in to words what the win meant saying, “Awesome. I can’t say anything. I don’t know. The last race was so tight, so tight. There was so much pressure on but we managed it.

“It was light winds today and all week we have been in strong winds. We knew before we started that the Spanish are really good in light winds so we were worried.”

Going in to the final race, just three points separated the top three of Finland, Spain and Denmark with New Zealand waiting to pounce in fourth, eight points further back.

As the opportunity arose, Greta and Kate Stewart (NZL) duly pounced, taking fourth to leave them on 57 points. A nervous wait followed as they watched where their rivals were. A few skiffs crossed the line and the Kiwis chances were suddenly becoming a reality and as soon as the 13th, 14th and 15th placed boats finished the mathematical calculations commenced.

The Finnish team came through in 15th and discarded the score, leaving them on 53 points. Next home were Spain’s Carla and Marta Munte Carrasco who had to carry their score due to a retirement earlier in the regatta. They held 58 points. Denmark’s Laerke Graversen and Iben Nielsby Christensen came through in 15th, which they discarded, and they were forced to count their 12th from the third race to put them on 57 points. This left Kronlof and and Hokka celebrating gold, the Danes in silver and the Stewart sisters in bronze due to countback.

With the Spanish out of the medals, what did Kronlof think caused the drop? “I think the pressure got to them also. They knew they had to beat us by two or three places.”

Switching places after the final race of the boy’s 29er were Slovenia’s Peter Lin Janezic and Anze Podlogar and New Zealand’s Jackson Keon and Nick Egnot Johnson.

The New Zealanders held an overnight lead of three points over Janezic and Podlogar so the Slovenians had to put some daylight between their rivals to get the gold. They managed it.

Explaining the last race, Janezic said, “Our first upwind was not as we planned and we were behind a lot. But then in the upwind we caught them. As we rounded the gate we were in front but we knew we had to be four places ahead and luckily we caught some shifts and we finished in front.”

Gold Medal 29er Men
Slovenia 29er Men Crew SLOAP1 Anze Podlogar
Slovenia 29er Men Helm SLOPJ1 Peter Janezic Day6, Final Day, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships,
Langkawi, Malaysia

The Slovenians finished in seventh leaving them on 46 points overall. The Kiwi team were five places behind in 12th as they concluded the regatta on 48 points. Janezic and Podlogar had done it. They had won the gold.

So how did it feel to win? “This is our first time that we have won a championship or any big event like this and its amazing. It definitely makes up for the fourth places.”

The fourth places he talks about are the finishes the pair got in both the World and European Championships but at the premier youth sailing regatta they broke their drought.

In in the battle for bronze it was Norway’s Tomas and Mads Mathisen who picked up the medal despite a 20th place finish.

420

The girl’s 420 went down to the wire as Poland’s Julia Szmit and Hannah Dzik and Australia’s Nia Jerwood and Lisa Smith fought it out for the gold medal.

Thanks to day five double bullets, the Polish team had a slender advantage, and it was those results that made the difference in the end. Poland had a 22nd place which they discarded and Australia had a 13th place which they also discarded. That meant Szmit and Dzik finished on 29 points, just one point ahead of Jerwood and Smith.

Even though the Polish girls knew what they had to do, it was only confusion that entered their mind when they took to the water as Szmit explains, “The last race was horrible. We were so stressed. We tried to go with the Australian team but then we started and thought ‘why are they on the other side?’ We totally forgot about them from the start.

“The whole race we were counting the teams before the Australians and there were 12, and we just thanked god no one had a false start.”

“We don’t understand why we are first. It’s unbelievable.”

Winning the bronze was Spain’s Maria Caba and Carla Diaz who rounded their week off with a fifth place finish and 38 points. The final bullet of the girl’s 420 went to France’s Jessie Kampman and Anael Ponthieu.

USA’s Will Logue and Bram Brakman started the day with a guaranteed gold medal, but it wasn’t until late last night that it was confirmed for them.

The pair had to wait for a protest to be withdrawn before they could fully appreciate the win, as Logue explained, “We were so happy. We were celebrating so much and then we found out we had a protest and we were like ‘Wait. What? How did this happen?’ But it all got sorted and we are good friends with the team that protested and when it got sorted it was such a relief. It was good to have that weight off our shoulders today.”

Even though there was a gold medal wrapped up and an easy day could be had, Brakman still had eyes on another prize, “We wanted to enjoy the fun, the race and the pressure release, but we also had the Nations Cup in mind to get some points on the table for our team.”

Unfortunately they couldn’t help the team as they only managed a discarded 16th.

The silver medal went to Brazil’s Leonardo Lombardi and Rodrigo Luz as they had a third in the last race to finish on 37 points.

Ireland’s Douglas Elmes and Colin O’Sullivan held off a late fight back from Australia’s Alec Brodie and Xavier Winston Smith and Argentina’s Felipe Martinez Autin Diniz and Ivan Aranguren to claim the bronze medal on 46 points. The Australian’s scored a ninth and finished on 48 points and the Argentinian’s took a bullet for 49 points. Elmes and O’Sullivan finished 11th in the final race but had some breathing space going into the day.

Louis Flament and Charles Dorange(FRA)

Laser Radial

The top three in the girl’s Laser Radial finished as it started on the final day as Hungary’s Maria Erdi claimed a well-earned gold followed by Germany’s Hannah Anderssohn and Poland’s Magdalena Kwasna.

By finishing fourth ahead of her nearest rivals, Erdi was able to do what was required to stay in front and keep her first place in the regatta, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounds as Erdi explained, “I’m very happy, but it was really tricky today. I was worried because I had a bad race yesterday, but I got a good start and I could control the fleet.

“I was third at the upward mark and then I could keep my place. I think I finished fourth but I don’t even remember, I just knew I was in a good position.”

She was certainly in a good position as Germany’s Anderssohn finished behind her in sixth place to seal silver.

Losing her second spot to Anderssohn the previous day, Poland’s Kwasna fell further behind as she finished the regatta with a ninth place to leave her on 41 points. That ninth was enough to stop her sliding any further down as in second place on the day was Uruguay’s Dolores Moreira Fraschini who finished just three points behind the German.

The last bullet of the regatta went to Spain’s Silvia Morales Gonzalez.

In the boy’s Laser Radial Australia’s Alistair Young knew there was no one that could knock him from the top of tree as he had already wrapped up the title the day before.

So with the weight off his shoulders, Young had the day to enjoy the Langkawi waters. With the night to think about his win, Young still couldn’t believe it saying, “Words can’t describe it still, but it is sinking in. I was pretty relaxed and it was nice because I was so stressed in all the other races and I knew in this one I could just sail around.”

His ‘sail around’ meant a 15th place finish which he discarded to finish the regatta on 32 points.

Julia Szmit and Hanna Dzik(POL)

Meanwhile a race for silver and bronze was on. Great Britain’s Daniel Whiteley and New Zealand’s George Gautrey trailed USA’s Nicholas Baird and Finland’s Oskari Muhonen In fourth and fifth respectively and knew they were in with a shot of the podium spots.

A fourth place moved Gautrey in to silver medal position as others around him were not quite grasping on to a medal tight enough. Gautrey benefitted from some high score finishes by his rivals to end the regatta on 52 points.

Great Britain’s Daniel Whiteley was the big mover of the day as he also took advantage of some high finishes when his bullet jumped him in to bronze medal position at the expense of Baird and Muhonen. Whiteley finished on 58 points, two clear of Baird on 60 points.

Alistair Young(AUS)

RS:X

Russia’s Stefania Elfutina managed to defend her Youth Worlds crown as she held off Great Britain’s Emma Wilson and China’s Xian Ting Huang.

The three have been a step ahead of the field all week and their regular top place finishes meant that the medals would be shared out between them before the last day. The only thing that needed to be decided was the colours.

Elfutina held on to her title with a third place finish and it was only after the day that she could reflect on her time as a youth competitor, “I feel so happy and it’s my second time and it’s always unbelievable. It’s great to finish my youth career in such a good place with such good people around, and to win it is even better.”

Behind Elfutina was Wilson who left it until the last and most important day to move up to second overall and claim silver. With a bullet in the final race and Huang finishing fourth, it meant the two were tied on 28 points. The final race win was decisive for Wilson as she grabbed the silver via count back.

While Elfutina was defending her title, the boy’s RS:X winner, France’s Titouan Le Bosq, was already thinking about how he would hold on to his next time in Oman.

An excited Le Bosq was clearly in love with his board saying, “It’s my first world title and the conditions all week were great. I like the planing. I like this sport. I love windsurfing!”

Stefania Elfutina(RUS)

With a fifth place in the final race, his 45 point total meant that he can return next year as champion of the class, and he already knows that’s his plan, “I like this competition and I definitely want to come back and defend my title in Oman and come back even stronger.”

Argentina’s Francisco Saubidet Birkner took the silver medal following a third leaving him to finish the week on 55 points.

Aruba’s Mack van der Eerenbeemt was looking to take the experience he gained from the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games and apply it to the Youth Worlds, but mast issues slowed down his progress. Even so, he could not finish above Brazil’s Brenno Francioli who will take a well-deserved bronze medal back home for his efforts. Francioli finished on 76 points, six clear of van der Eerenbeemt.

Titouan Le Bosq

SL16

The French domination continued in the SL16 as Louis Flament and Charles Dorange again had a perfect day winning all three races in the gold fleet.

In Flament’s words, “We won a lot of races and we controlled our opponents since the start of competition.”

The French precision ensured they managed everyone in the fleet with the only blot on their copy book a fifth place finish in their ninth race.

Describing what happened in that race, a laughing Flament said, “It’s my fault. I fell in the water and Charles had to come back and pick me up.”

Even with his swim, the continuous bullets meant that they were too strong to catch, but with Flament aged out of the next Youth Worlds, would Dorange come back with a new partner? He put it simply, “I think not. We are going to stay as team and go forward.”

Trying to catch them all week were Australian’s Shaun Connor and Sophie Renouf who before the regatta had never raced an SL16. The pair adapted well to take a silver medal, but their tally of 26 points was no match for the French teams 14 points.

Rounding out the medals with a bronze was New Zealand’s Tamryn Lindsay and William Mckenzie who couldn’t match their neighbours as they fell away with a string of fourth place finishes as the regatta drew towards its conclusion.

Gold Medal 420 Men
United States 420 Men Crew USABB142 Bram Brakman United States 420 Men Helm USAWL30 Will Logue Day6, Final Day, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships,
Langkawi, Malaysia

Nations Trophy

The Nations Trophy was won by Australia with boy’s Laser Radial sailor Alistair Young leading the charge for the team from Down Under.

With a total of 303 points, the Australian team beat New Zealand in to second on 279 and France in third on 245.

This is Australia’s fourth Nations Trophy and it ties them in second place historically with Great Britain. France are still out in front on 11 wins.

Last year’s winners Spain dropped down to seventh.

The 45th Youth World Championships closes with the prize giving and closing ceremony to be held at the Dewan Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre.

Richard Aspland

French domination at the Youth Sailing Worlds

One team is determined to dominate at the 45th Youth Sailing World Championships as the SL16 fleet brought in 2016 with a bang.

As the majority of the record 425 sailors enjoyed New Year’s day in Langkawi, Malaysia, the SL16 sailors went to work in a 20 knot breeze.

Using the rest day to catch up on their race schedule, one team just doesn’t seem to care what day or what country they have to race, they will win anyway. France’s Louis Flament and Charles Dorange sailed in the morning’s yellow fleet and again proved too good for the rest of the field.

Sirena SL16 Fleet.
Day4, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships,
Langkawi, Malaysia

With another perfect day, the seemingly unstoppable duo returned with four bullets to add to their previous days four from four. They could be leaving Langkawi with an arsenal if they continue in this rich vein of form.

So can anyone stop them? Well New Zealand’s Tamryn Lindsay and William Mckenzie were their closest rivals in the yellow fleet with three seconds and a third, and the French pair see them as potential rivals.

A cool, calm and collected Flament outlined his thoughts on the day and who could challenge him and his crew saying, “We had more confrontations today with New Zealand and it progressed in to some great races. It was more difficult than yesterday and we improved our sailing, so we are pleased with our performance.”

“We haven’t sailed against Australia and the USA yet and they are two and three in the standings. And New Zealand are a serious competitor in the future.”

USA and Australia sailed in the afternoon blue fleet and it was mixed fortunes for the teams. Australia continued to sail well and scored two bullets and two second places, while USA could only manage a 3-4-5 and a discarded 6.

Italy Sirena SL16 Open Crew ITAMG142 Maria Giubilei Italy Sirena SL16 Open Helm ITAGU1 Gianluigi Ugolini Day4, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships,
Langkawi, Malaysia

A team that took advantage of USA’s drop was Italy. Scores of 1-1-2-3 showed an improvement on the first race day and it is down to Gianluigi Ugolini and Maria Guibilei getting used to the subtle differences from their usual sailing style as Guibilei explained, “We have some problems because we haven’t sailed on this boat many times, normally we sail the Nacra 17, but we do what we can. There are many differences and sometimes it’s difficult as we do something one way on the Nacra and different on this, but we try.”

Their top three finishes moved them up to fourth place overall, joint on 20 points with USA. New Zealand are third on 16 points, Australia are second on 10 and the irrefutable leaders are France on 7 points.

The SL16 is made up of 14 teams, and the question is can any of them break the monopoly the French team have built on bullets at the moment, or could they go through the whole regatta unbeaten? French helm Lament doesn’t give much away, but he is certainly excited by the prospect if they could, “It would be amazing. But it will take a really great performance. The competition is very good and I think we have the advantage that it is windy and we love these conditions. But yeah, it would be amazing if we could win every race.”

The home team, Malaysia’s Ahmad Khairulhafiz Ahmad Khmbali and Muhamad Fauzan Ruslan, improved on their opening day performance as they scored a 4-6-4 before claiming second in the final yellow fleet race of the day. They are sitting in tenth on 36 points.

Today also saw the Nations trophy table start to take shape with countries gunning to take bragging rights home from Langkawi. Thanks to SL16 sailors Shaun Connor and Sophie Renouf, Australia currently hold top spot on 255 points while near neighbours New Zealand are just behind on 240. Despite the scores Flament and Dorange are piling up for the French team, they are third on 223 points.

Racing continues tomorrow at 10:00 local time with all fleets scheduled to race.

By Richard Aspland

French SL16 Sailors Tagged As Youth Worlds Favourites

France’s Louis Flament and Charles Dorange have the favourites tag pinned on them at the 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships having taken the title in Tavira, Portugal last year.

From 27 December through to 3 January the high flying French duo will in amongst the 16-boat SL16 fleet aiming to defend their title in Langkawi, Malaysia.

2014 SL16 Youth Worlds fleet

The Langkawi Youth Worlds will break all previous records in terms of participation and number of nations. More than 430 sailors from 80 nations across nine fleets are registered to sail on the Malaysian waters off of Langkawi. New and returning nations make up the numbers to easily surpass the previous best of 67 set in Tavira, Portugal last year.

As returning gold medallists and 2015 World Champions, Flament and Dorange come into the Youth Worlds as the ones to beat but they won’t be taking anything for granted. “Our title in 2014 gives us a little advantage because we have been there before and others have not, but we do not underestimate our opponents. Nothing is certain and it is a long way to victory,” the pair said.

The French duo took seven race victories in the 2014 series and whilst they made some mistakes along the way, allowing their rivals to see them in their sights heading into the final race, they made no errors on the last day, taking the bullet and with it gold.

Their bond in the boat stems from a long term partnership that started when they were just seven and ten respectively. By looking up to their idols the pair always knew what they wanted to do as they explained, “When we saw Billy Besson [Nacra 17 and Formula 18 World Champion] racing the SL16 we wanted to be like him because he is a World Champion. We always wanted to be like him so we are happy that we are a world champion, like him.”

Besson is a three time Nacra 17 World Champion and is arguably the favourite for Rio 2016 glory. Whether the pair can follow in their hero’s footsteps remains to be seen but the journey to stardom begins at the Youth Worlds and a second gold in Langkawi could set them on their way.

Further competition for medals will come from Australia’s Shuan Connor and Sophie Renouf, Great Britain’s Jack Butters and James King, New Zealand’s Tamryn Lindsay and Will McKenzie as well as the USA’s Mark and Anderson Brunsvold.

The SL16 fleet will be sharing eight boats throughout the Youth Worlds with a qualifying series and a final series. Boats have been assigned to blue and yellow fleets for the opening day of racing based on their performance at the last four Youth Worlds.

Flament and Dorange at the 2014 Youth Worlds

Four races on the opening day are scheduled for the blue and yellow fleets. Boats will then be assigned fleets on a daily basis based on their overall position. Each fleet is scheduled to sail four races each day leading up to the final day. On the final day the fleets will be split into Gold and Silver where the final placings will be decided.

Sailors will start to arrive at the Langkawi venue on 27 December where they will receive the supplied equipment from Ovington, UpMarine, Nautivela, Sirena Voile, Neil Pryde and Laser Performance/Maclaren.

From there, the ceremony on 28 December will signal the start of the Youth Worlds before racing commences on 29 December. Racing will run through to Sunday 3 January with Friday 1 January a lay day for the sailors.

Record Breaking 2014 ISAF Youth Worlds Closes In Tavira

Isaf Youth Worlds_Day 7_Closing Ceremony-24 ISAF Media Library

The 2014 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship has set new grounds for the regatta with Tavira, Portugal playing host to a record number of nations and sailors as the curtain was drawn on the event at the closing ceremony.

Tavira’s Town Hall square played host to the closing ceremony on 18 July and saw the achievements of all 367 sailors from 67 nations celebrated.

Isaf Youth Worlds_Day 7_Closing Ceremony-2 ISAF Media Library

Spain lifted the Nations Trophy for the first time in their history as they celebrated four medals from the eight classes racing in the Algarve.

Five days of intense competition saw 86 races completed with the finest youth sailors on the planet taking the honours.

The ISAF Bengt Julin Trophy was awarded to South Africa’s Brandon Wijtenburg and Todd Fisher who had demonstrated good sportsmanship, respect, graciousness, helpfulness and friendliness to their fellow competitors.

First awarded in 1990, the ISAF Bengt Julin Trophy is a unique trophy which is awarded to a competitor or a National Team that has done the most to foster understanding and displaying attributes that are encouraged at the ISAF Youth Worlds.

Isaf Youth Worlds_Day 7_Closing Ceremony-41 ISAF Media Library

Wijtenburg and Fisher were nominated by their peers and received the award from ISAF Vice President Nazli Imre.

Alongside the medal presentations special thanks was given to event sponsors, volunteers and boat suppliers who made the 44th edition of the ISAF Youth Worlds possible.

ISAF Vice-President Nazli Imre closed the event and handed the ISAF flag over to Langkawi, Malaysia, host venue of the 2015 ISAF Youth Worlds.

Thrilling Conclusion To ISAF Youth Worlds

Racing at the 2014 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship in Tavira, Portugal came to a thrilling conclusion as the medals across the eight events were decided.

For the first time in their history the Spanish team have won the ISAF Youth Worlds Nations Trophy after a controlling display. Across the eight fleets Spanish sailors picked up three gold medals and a silver. Three of the teams finished in the top ten ensuring they were the most consistent nation out of the 67 competing in Tavira. France and Israel follow the Spanish team in the on the leader board.

A beautiful westerly breeze came through early in the afternoon allowing three RS:X Boys and Girls races, two 29er races with a single race in the remaining fleets.

Racing commenced at 12:00 local time in a breeze that slowly built to 10-13 knots as the day progressed.

RS:X

Russia’s Stefaniya Elfutina overthrew China’s Shi Hongmei on the final day to claim a hard fought gold medal.

It all boiled down to the final race and a nervy Elfutina was unsure whether or not she had won ashore as she explained her day, “The first race was not good, in fact it was really bad, I was fifth but the next one was better and I was second. Before the last race I was second and had three points to first place and I was nervous a little bit because everybody is strong and I said okay, do what you can, and I was first and she [Hongmei] was fifth or sixth.

“It’s amazing but for now we should wait for the results because I’m afraid. When I see the results that Russia’s first then yes, that’s okay to celebrate.”

When the results were published a scream of joy from Elfutina echoed across the boat park and beyond. She added, “I feel happy. It’s all such a good feeling and I don’t believe it yet. It’s like a dream and it’s my second World Championship win and I love it.

“This is one more step to my dream of being at the Olympics and being in the adult world.

“I want to say thanks to all of the girls and organization because it was a really good competition. We’ve had a great championship.”

The Chinese sailor came away with silver and Italy’s Marta Maggetti remained in bronze medal position after a 2-3-4 scoreline.

Overnight RS:X Boys leader Yael Paz (ISR) held on to take gold after a nervy finish. With three races sailed Mattia Camboni (ITA) reduced Paz’s four point lead to one in Race 10 with a bullet. One place separated them in Race 11 with two points the difference going into the final showdown.

The mathematics had been done before Race 12 and Camboni needed to put two places between him and Paz. As Camboni stormed through to take the final race bullet he quickly turned to view the action behind him and was left downhearted when the Israeli crossed in second to seal gold.

For Paz it was jubilation, “It’s a great feeling and it was a really tough race and really tight at the end but I’m so glad I won.

“It was really tricky racing with strong competition. I won by one point in the end so it was really tight. It was really hard and before every start I had to think about what I had to. It was massive pressure but in the end I managed to deal with it and I feel great and can’t wait to talk to everyone back home.”

Camboni took six race wins across the 12 race series but ultimately it was Paz’s consistency that handed him gold with the Italian settling for silver.

Poland’s Radoslaw Furmanski picked up bronze.

Isaf Youth Worlds_Day 5_Races- photo credit ISAF Media Library

420

Japan’s Ibuki Koizumi and Kotaro Matsuo and Singapore’s Yia Jia Loh and Jonathan Yeo were tied on 38 points apiece heading into the single 420 Boys race.

The Singaporeans were relaxed on the race course and took matters into their own hands as they had a great start which they were able to transition into a good lead. As they crossed the finish line in first it was Singaporean gold, their third throughout the history of the ISAF Youth Worlds.

“I am the happiest person in the world right now,” beamed Yeo. “We had tears of joy and I am just speechless. I will be feeling on top of the world at the closing ceremony. I am just really grateful for everyone who has helped me and my partner. My coach has phoned my parents and everyone back home, I think when I speak to them I will be speechless again.”

The Japanese pair finished 12th in the final race to drop to bronze medal position as a third from Malaysia’s Mohammad Faizal Norizan and Ahmad Syukri Abdul Aziz promoted them up to silver.

Gold and silver were decided on the penultimate day with Spain’s Silvia Mas and Marta Davila holding an unassailable lead atop of the pack with Israel’s Yahel Wallach and Stav Brokman unable to be dislodged in second.

Anything was possible in the fleet with places third to seventh capable of winning gold. In the end Poland’s Ewa Romaniuk and Katarzyna Goralska took the bull by the horns and took the final race victory and with it, a bronze medal.

SL16

France’s Louis Flament and Charles Dorange had dominated the SL16 fleet with consistent racing across the week and sealed gold with their seventh race victory on the final day.

The vibrant youngsters have been sailing together since they were seven years old and ten years on from their first outing together they are celebrating an ISAF Youth Worlds gold medal.

“This is an accomplishment of a lot of work together,” said Dorange. “We are always progressing in sailing and always doing our best and this is our accomplishment and we are very happy to have this reward.”

Historically the French team have been strong in the multihulls at the ISAF Youth Worlds and the pair have thanks to an inspirational racer, “When we saw Billy Besson [Nacra 17 and Formula 18 World Champion] racing the SL16 we wanted to be like him because he is a World Champion. We always wanted to be like him so we are happy that we are a world champion, like him.”

Jordi and Ruben Booth walk away with silver whilst Brazil’s Kim Vidal and Antonio Lopes finish third overall. Vidal ages out of the ISAF Youth Worlds having taken one gold and two bronze medals from four events he’s competed at.

Isaf Youth Worlds_ISR_420- photo credit ISAF Media Library

29er

Having lost the 29er lead they had held all week on the penultimate day France’s Brice Yrieix and Loic Fischer Guillou hit back on the final day to take gold.

The pair trailed America’s Quinn Wilson and Riley Gibbs by one point overnight but were able to level the scores up after the first race of the day. With both teams on 47 points it was a winner takes all bout. The French maintained their composure and came through in sixth whilst the Americans finished 13th sparking French celebrations on the water.

“There was a lot of pressure before the last race because we were in second,” said Yrieix, “but now I am very happy because we are World Champions and our next goal is the 29er World Championship.”

A smiley Fischer Guillou added, “I feel great, this is the result we wanted.”

It was a deserved victory for the French pair who have been consistent performers on the race course throughout the 13 race series.

The Americans take away silver whilst Markus Somerville and Isaac Mchardie (NZL) walk away in bronze.

Laser Radial

In a three way shoot out for Laser Radial Boys honours Joel Rodriguez (ESP) came out on top following a fourth place. Seafra Guilfoyle (IRL) put the pressure on the Spaniard with a final race bullet but a fourth was enough for Rodriguez as he took gold by four points.

“It was close at the end but I am really happy,” said Rodriguez. “I started the championship really bad and yesterday I managed to get in the lead and today I was able to win. It was very close.”

The Irish racer climbed up to second overall following his bullet whilst Singapore’s Ryan Lo fell to third, discarding his 19th in the last race.

Martina Reino (ESP) made it double Spanish Laser Radial gold as she stylishly took the hnours with a final race bullet. Across the nine race series the Spanish sailor has amassed four race wins and finishes 11 points ahead of Haddon Hughes (USA) and Monika Mikkola (FIN).

After racing Reino said, “I had a very good start and then the race was easy. I sailed very well to finish first and it was just perfect. I have no words to describe it because winning a world championship is a dream. It’s crazy, I am very happy.”

Hughes and Mikkola ended up tied on 50 points but the American takes silver having picked up one more race win than the Finnish sailor.

Focus now turns to the closing ceremony which will take place outside of Tavira’s Town Hall at 20:30 local time.

Isaf Youth Worlds_Day 7-01 photo credit ISAF Media Library