Sailing World Cup Final Concludes In Abu Dhabi

Australia’s Mat Belcher and Will Ryan led the gold rush as the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final reached its conclusion in Abu Dhabi today.

The defending champions underlined their dominance by winning the Medal Race to score a comprehensive second successive Men’s 470 World Cup triumph at the Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club.

On this occasion, Belcher and Ryan got home by just a second from the young Spanish pairing of Jordi Xammar and Joan Herp to finish 11 points ahead of Sweden’s Anton Dahlberg and Fredrik Bergström who finished second on the last day of the regatta, sponsored by ADS Securities and Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority

The result underlines the Aussies’ position as firm favourites to strike gold at next year’s Olympics Games in Rio de Janeiro and adds to Belcher’s haul of six world titles, three won in tandem with Ryan.

Swede-Josefin-Olsson

After racing Belcher commented, “It’s been a long week with difficult conditions to sail in, but it’s been great to race in the morning. We have had some tough competition and there hasn’t been much rest since the worlds. We knew everyone was in top form and highly motivated so we are happy to get the win.”

It also added to the reputation of their Ukrainian-born coach, Victor Kovalenko, known as “The Medal Maker,” who has guided the winners of nine Olympic medals – six golds – and 18 world championships. Americans Stuart McNay and David Hughes, 6th on the day, took the 470 bronze.

Third position in the Women’s 470 medal race was enough to leave Britain’s Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark celebrating gold from last year’s World Cup winners in Abu Dhabi, Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar.

The Austrians were second on the day in a race won by Akiyo Yamaguchi and Eri Hatayama, although it was another Japanese combination, that of Ai Kondo Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka, who collected bronze medals.

2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final, Abu Dhabi,
Credit Pedro Martinez/Sailing Energy/ Isaf

There was consolation for Austria in the 49er as Nico Delle-Karth and Nikolaus Resch won the Medal Race following back-to-back race victories the previous day to land the gold with six points to spare over Stefano Cherin and Andrea Tesei.

“It feels amazing to win,” Delle Karth exclaimed. “It has been really tricky all week with the offshore morning breeze, which made the racing super close. We have had really good fun all week. There was a bit of pressure in the medal race and it was open for a number of people to win so it was great to go out and execute under pressure. It was a valuable experience.”

Finishing second on the day, just ahead of the Italian silver medallists, were Frenchmen Gabriel Skoczek and Yann Rocherieux who won bronze.

Croatia’s Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic is the new World Cup champion in the Finn, clinching gold with a 4th place in the Medal Race. Turkey’s Alican Kaynar finished third to claim silver, while victory on the day saw Spain’s Pablo Guitian Sarria edge ahead of Britain’s Edward Wright to take bronze.

With an offshore breeze of 8-13 knots switching to a sea breeze later on, Australian Tom Burton was always in control in the Laser, taking third place in the Medal Race to comfortably secure gold ahead of Cypriot winner on the day, Pavlos Kontides.

2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final, Abu Dhabi,
Credit Pedro Martinez/Sailing Energy/ Isaf

A closing sixth place finish was enough to see another Australian, Matthew Wearn, squeeze past five-time Olympic medalist Robert Scheidt to take the bronze after the Brazilian closed with a disappointing ninth.

The battle for gold in the Laser Radial was one of the most intriguing of the World Cup final, and ultimately it went to Sweden’s Josefin Olsson who had trailed Holland’s Marit Bouwmeester by a single point overnight. “This is my first World Cup win so it feels great,” said Olsson, “It’s always good to win the final. It means a lot to be up there and fight it out with the top girls and get a podium position in the end.”

While Olsson finished fourth on the day, Bouwmeester slipped to eighth in the Medal Race. Denmark’s Anne-Marie Rindom, first to finish, subsequently collected a penalty but was still able to beat Belgium’s defending champion Evi Van Acker to the bronze medal.

The Men’s RS:X was another which brought a last-day turnaround, with Spain’s Ivan Pastor Lafuente taking the RS:X medal race victory to snatch gold from Brazil’s overnight leader, Ricardo Santos, who slumped to seventh on the day for silver. Great Britain’s Tom Squires won the bronze medal.

Arguably the most impressive performer of the regatta was Britain’s Bryony Shaw who successfully defended her World Cup crown in the RS:X women’s class, winning the medal race for her seventh victory out of 10. Second place on the day gave Italy’s Flavia Tartaglini the silver medal while Brazilian Patricia Freitas finished third to secure the bronze.

2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final, Abu Dhabi,
Credit Pedro Martinez/Sailing Energy/ Isaf

Britain’s Oliver Bridge won the decisive medal race to retain his open kiteboarding title and round off the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final at Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club.

Spain’s Florian Trittel collected the silver medal while the bronze went to fellow-countryman Alejandro Climent Hernandez.

Attention now turns to the start of the 2016 ISAF Sailing World Cup series that commences in Melbourne, Australia in the middle of December later this year.

2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final: Battle For Gold Heats Up In Abu Dhabi

The battle for gold in the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final is turning into a classic contest of skill and concentration in Abu Dhabi, with the sport’s top athletes turning on a spectacular display in near perfect conditions.

The second day of the Sailing World Cup grand finale brought offshore breezes of 9-13 knots at Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club (ADSYC), and the cream of the Olympic sailing classes were in their element.

It was another good day for Great Britain’s Bryony Shaw, defending champion in the Women’s RS:X, who followed up her second place in the first of the three races with victory in the last to hold a two-point overall lead from Italy’s Flavia Tartaglini, the second race winner.

Shaw commented on here day saying, “It’s about keeping everything simple and minimising mistakes, as I made a few today. We might have a different breeze tomorrow so I will be racing smart and keeping my energy levels as good as they can be.”

This is proving to be one of the most competitive of the eight Olympic sailing classes being contested in the UAE capital’s World Cup regatta, which is sponsored by ADS Securities and Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority.

Brazilian Patricia Freitas is another with her sights still on the World Cup gold after a win in the opening race helped her to third at the end of the day.

Australian Tom Burton, leading the 20-boat Laser fleet overnight, once again showed his liking for conditions in Abu Dhabi, and second place in the day’s opening race won by German Philipp Buhl saw him extend his advantage to 3 points over Robert Scheidt, the five-times Olympic medalist.

The Netherlands Marit Bouwmeester At the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirate.
Credit Jesus Renedo / Sailing Energy /ISAF

Brazilian Scheidt immediately discarded his eighth place finish while Britain’s Nick Thompson completed the top three after finishing third behind another Aussie, Matthew Wearn, who was fifth overall.

In the Laser Radial Netherland’s Marit Bouwmeester won the first of two races from Josefin Olsson and, after discarding her 8th position in race two, ended the day leading the Swede by three points.

Second race winner Tatiana Drozdovskaya of Belarus was down in 7th overall, while Belgium’s defending champion Evi Van Acker continued to have a difficult title defence, her 3rd and 11th positions on the day leaving her in 5th overall.

Austria’s defending champions Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar are having a great battle with Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark in the Women’s 470 class, and there is nothing between them after two days of fleet racing.

The first day of the regatta had been a mixed one for Vadlau and Ogar, as their opening win was followed quickly by disqualification for a false start in race two.

They reclaimed the outright lead by winning today’s opener from Mills and Clark who were placed third. But the British girls reversed the positions in the second race to draw level with last year’s gold medalists. Japan’s Ai Kondo Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka are third after a 4th and 2nd place.

Ogar described her thoughts on the early starts and her class competition by saying, “The wind was really nice today but it’s the hours we struggle with, we don’t like sailing so much in the morning. The wind conditions were perfect with some great waves. The GBR girls are a good team and it’s good to be so close to them – we like them.”

Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirate.
Credit Pedro Martinez/ Sailing Energy/ Isaf

Great Britain’s Tom Squires stayed on course for gold in the Men’s RS:X when he snatched victory in the last of the day’s three races after earlier 7th and a 2nd place finishes.

He leads by four points from Spain’s Ivan Pastor Lafuente who followed his opening race win with a pair of 5th place finishes, with Brazilian Ricardo Santos in third after a run of 3rd, 4th and 2nd. After an opening second position, Byron Kokkalanis of Greece, last year’s silver medal winner, slipped to 7th and 9th to finish the day in 5th.

Another intriguing contest for gold is developing in the 49er class, with Poland’s Dominik Buksak and Szymon Wierzbicki tied at the end of the day with Italy’s Stefano Cherin and Andrea Tesei.

The Poles followed their first race win with two 4th positions, while Cherin and Tesei fitted a race victory in between two 2nd places. British brothers Rory and Neil Hunter climbed to third by taking the third race of the day.

There are still two days of racing left, but already multiple world champions Mat Belcher and Will Ryan are looking good for another pair of Men’s 470 World Cup gold medals in Abu Dhabi.

Finishing second in today’s first of two races to Sweden’s Anton Dahlberg and Fredrik Bergström, the Australians won race two to earn a four-point advantage over Americans Stuart McNay and David Hughes who’s opening 4th place was followed by a disappointing retirement. Dahlberg and Bergström are another point away in third.

Croatia’s Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic is clearly enjoying conditions in Abu Dhabi, scoring victory in both of today’s races in the Finn class to take a 4pt overall lead from Britain’s Edward Wright and Turkey’s Alican Kaynar who are tied in second. Consistency seems to be the theme in this class, as Wright was third in both of today’s races while Kaynar collected a couple of second places.

The open kiteboarding event was continuing through the afternoon off the Corniche in Abu Dhabi as defending champion Oliver Bridge of Great Britain looked to add to his hat-trick of race victories from the previous day.

After tomorrow’s third day of fleet racing, the top ten athletes from each of the eight Olympic sailing classes, as well as the open kiteboarding competition, will move forward into Sunday’s Medal Races to decide who leaves Abu Dhabi with World Cup gold, silver and bronze.

Champions Make Golden Start As ISAF Sailing World Cup Final Gets Under Way In Abu Dhabi

The 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final produced a fascinating opening day in Abu Dhabi, and it was business as usual for several of the defending champions setting out again on a gold medal course.

Great Britain’s Bryony Shaw made the perfect start in her pursuit of a second successful World Cup Final title at Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club (ADSYC), taking the first race win in the Women’s RS:X ahead of Brazilian Patricia Freitas and France’s Hélène Noesmoen.

Shaw followed up with a second place and another victory to lead by one point at the end of the day from Flavia Tartaglini of Italy who recorded finishes of 4th, 3rd and 2nd, and last year’s champion looks determined to hold on to her crown.

“It was fun sailing out there, nice offshore, windy conditions,” said Shaw. “It was great to get some speed in the wind but still there was pressure to not get stuck in the light winds. I feel like I had a good day’s sailing today. I’m here to try and win the gold medal so it’s great to already be ahead.”

Australian Tom Burton is another who clearly enjoys the conditions in Abu Dhabi. The defending champion scored one race win and a second place to lead the 20-boat Laser fleet from five-times Olympic medalist Robert Scheidt of Brazil who picked up a pair of third places.

Lying fourth is first race winner Jesper Stalheim from Sweden, and there is plenty of racing ahead in the Laser class as the chance for the athletes to discard their worst race result kicks in tomorrow. In the Laser Radial Holland’s Marit Bouwmeester leads on four points after one race win and a third place finish. The day’s other race win went to Great Britain’s Alison Young, but a 12th in the second race leaves her in 7th overall.

Sponsored by ADS Securities and Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final sent 144 competitors from 37 countries into action at ADSYC to contest eight of the ten classes chosen for next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, as well as an open kiteboarding competition.

With a strong breeze blowing in from the land from early morning, the organisers brought the start of the first day’s racing forward by two hours to take advantage of excellent sailing conditions.

There was also an opening race victory for the defending champions in the fiercely contested Women’s 470 class. Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar led from start to finish and took the first race win by 17 seconds from London 2012 Olympic silver medalists Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark and the gold medal winners from the World Cup qualifying regatta in Qingdao, China, Ai Kondo Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka.

But fortunes can change quickly and in the second race Vadlau and Ogar were disqualified after making a false start and finished the day down in fourth overall. Leading the class are Kondo Yoshida and Yoshioka who won the second race of the day.

In the men’s RS:X class Great Britain’s Tom Squires won the first of the day’s three races by 28 seconds from Byron Kokkalanis of Greece, last year’s silver medal winner in Abu Dhabi, with Italy’s Daniele Benedetti a close third.

Squires followed up with a third place in race two as Kokkalanis finished runner up again – this time to Britain’s Joe Bennett – and the pair completed the day sharing the lead in the class on four points each. Italian Mattia Camboni won the third race and is third overall.

Squires said, “It’s been a really good day, nice and windy. We’ve had up to 15 knots, it’s really been quite lovely actually. I have to play my cards right tomorrow. It will be a good day of sailing. I’m favouring windy conditions so I hope for the best for tomorrow.”

Local sailing school and olympic sailors together sailing optimist. 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final, Abu Dhabi,
Credit Pedro Martinez/Sailing Energy/ Isaf

In the 49er, the Polish combination of Dominik Buksak and Szymon Wierzbicki snatched two second places and discarded their 7th position in the third race to lead on two points from ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami gold medallists Nico Delle-Karth and Nikolaus Resch of Austria. Ending the day in third place were the first race winners, Italy’s Stefano Cherin and Andrea Tesei.

There are no bigger favourites for gold in the UAE capital than multiple world champions Mat Belcher and Will Ryan, although the Australian duo had to come from behind to land the opening race in the men’s 470 class. Down in third at the first mark, they eventually came through to victory by 29 seconds from Austrians Matthias Schmid and Florian Reichstädter, with Americans Stuart McNay and David Hughes in third.

In race two the Aussies were beaten into second place by McNay and Hughes but lead the Americans by a single point at the end of the day. In the Finn class Great Britain’s Edward Wright leads the way on four points following a first and a third position in today’s two races, heading Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic of Croatia who won one of them.

The open kiteboarding event continued through the afternoon off the Corniche in Abu Dhabi as defending champion Oliver Bridge of Great Britain aims to defend his title.

After three days of fleet racing, the top ten athletes from each of the eight Olympic sailing classes, as well as the open kiteboarding competition, will move forward into Sunday’s medal races to decide who leaves Abu Dhabi with World Cup gold, silver and bronze.