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2015 ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP- Melbourne
Melbourne, 07.-13.Dezember 2015
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Thursday 3rd December
Photo by Teri Dodds
Nations qualify for Rio 2016 at Para World Sailing Championships
Thirteen nations have qualified for places at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Sailing Competition following the Para World Sailing Championships being held out of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Williamstown, Melbourne, Australia.
Seven One-Person Keelboat (2.4mR) spots, five Two-Person Keelboat (SKUD18) places and six Three-Person Keelboat (Sonar) slots were allocated to the following nations at the 2015 Para World Sailing Championships:
One-Person Keelboat - 2.4mR
Austria
Argentina
Czech Republic
Italy
New Zealand
Sweden
Spain
Two-Person Keelboat - SKUD18
Netherlands
New Zealand
Poland
Singapore
Spain
Three-Person Keelboat - Sonar
Ireland
Israel
Italy
New Zealand
Spain
USA
National Paralympic Committees have until 1 March 2016 to confirm the qualification slots they will use. Any unused slots will be reallocated by 1 April 2016. Find out more on Rio 2016 Paralympic Games qualification here - http://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/2016ParalympicsSailingQualificationSystem-%5B16640%5D.pdf
Away from the road to Rio, the competition concluded with Damien Seguin (FRA) taking gold in the 2.4mR with Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch (AUS) defending their title in the SKUD18. And there were some wild celebrations in the Sonar as John Robertson, Steve Thomas and Hannah Stodel (GBR) snapped up the title.
Several athletes will remain in Williamstown for the next ten days with several crews competing at Sailing World Cup Melbourne. From thereon in it’s into 2016, Paralympic year, and sailors will have their eye on the 2016 Para World Sailing Championships in Medemblik, the Netherlands along the way.
All interest centred on the Frenchman Damien Seguin today. Leading on points from Germany’s Heiko Kroeger, he kept the German in his sights throughout and clinched the world title with a buffer of seven points, with Kroeger in second place. Third was Australia’s Matt Bugg, who said afterwards that last night’s nightmare of Britain’s Helena Lucas winning the last race while he languished back in fortieth almost came true, when he was buried in the middle of the pack while Lucas was among the leaders. He found his way back however, his fourteenth place good enough to hold the British sailor out by just two points.
The Australian Sonar crew of Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden had been dominant in the early part of the regatta but struggled in races 7, 8, 9 and 10 to be bumped off the top of the leaderboard. In theory, a good result in today’s final race could redeem the position, but it would also rely on other boats in the race. Starting well today and showing good boat speed, the Australian crew were in the leading bunch in the early stages, with the British team of John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas hot on their heels. The Israeli combination of Dror Cohen, Arnon Elfrati and Shimon Ben Yakov managed to break away from the pack and went on for a very comfortable win by a margin of three minutes. The American team of Rick Doerr, Bradley Kendell and Hugh Freund led the trailing bunch, ahead of the Australians.
Following the race, the Australians lodged a request for the re-opening of a protest from race 4, in which they suffered damage following a collision with Israel. The Israeli boat executed its penalty turns and avoided disqualification and the Australian boat was not granted redress. After a lengthy consideration of the detail, the jury allowed the boat to accept either average points or retain their second place for the race – effectively confirming the status quo. In a fine gesture of sportsmanship, the Australians rushed over to the British crew to congratulate them immediately after emerging from the jury room.
The consensus among both competitors and officials is that this was a wonderful regatta. It was certainly well run, and the wide range of conditions encountered ensured fair competition for all.
Several athletes will remain in Williamstown for the next ten days with several crews competing at Sailing World Cup Melbourne. From thereon in it’s into 2016, Paralympic year, and sailors will have their eye on the 2016 Para World Sailing Championships in Medemblik, the Netherlands along the way.
- By ISAF -
- End Publication -
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