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Gold and two silvers for Great Britain
Light winds at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy meant medal races scheduled to take place in four classes today were abandoned, with the positions ahead of the medal races counting as the final results.
That meant Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson won gold in the Star class, while Ed Wright collected the silver in the Finn class and Bryony Shaw took silver in the women’s RS:X. Wright had already won the ISAF World Cup series before the start of the regatta.
Simpson said he was delighted with result. He said. “It’s great to win, but it’s all about what happens at 2012. We didn’t sail brilliantly this week, but we sailed on average better than the rest.
“We’ve had difficult conditions this week. It’s been north easterly all week, which is rare this time of year,” he added.
Percy said: “I wouldn’t have missed competing here for the world. We’ve really enjoyed ourselves.
“We all wanted to get out there and race, but we wouldn’t want to ruin a great week of racing with a bit of a charade,” he added. “It’s a shame we didn’t sail today, but it’s the right decision.”
The Swedish crew of Frederik Loof and Johnan Tillander took silver, with Flavio Marazzi and Enrico De Maria (SUI) winning bronze.
Croatia’s Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic was pleased with his victory in the Finn class. “This has been a great week for me,” he said. “I’m a lot lighter than the other guys, so it wasn’t easy for me the conditions we had earlier in the week.
“I was struggling, it was quite hard,” he added. “But I really did a great job and I’m so happy to be in top spot.”
Wright had to settle for silver in the regatta, but he has the satisfaction of collecting gold in the overall series.
“I’m really happy to have won the series,” he said. “I’ve learned quite a lot of things this week and I will hopefully take that away with me and get gold next time.
“I really lost the event on the second day. They were really my conditions, but I had a couple of capsizes.
“The key to winning gold in 2012 will be to sail consistently well and be the best all round sailor.”
Bronze went to Zach Railey of the USA. “I’m pretty happy with another podium finish this year, particularly after a bit of an up and down week,” he said. “It’s great. That’s why we train hard, to win medals.”
Britain’s Giles Scott finished sixth with Andrew Mills ninth.
Spain’s Blanca Manchon celebrated a double victory – winning the RS:X class at both the regatta and in the World Cup series. She won four of the 10 races this week.
She said: “It’s been a long, long year for me. I’ve done a lot of travelling for competitions and for training, but now I’ve won the World Cup, so I’m really happy.”
Britain’s Bryony Shaw, bronze medallist at the Beijing 2008 Olympics Games, had to settle for runners-up spot. “It would have been nice to have a little battle out there today, but I’m happy with second. The Spanish girl has sailed really well this week.
“Getting confidence from the result is really important from me. Missing out of the medals at the World Championships was a big disappointment for me, but this week has shown I can bounce back from that in what was an equally competitive field.
” I can now focus on the winter season and I know I can go into next season in good shape. Things are really moving forward for me.”
Italy’s Flavia Tartaglini took bronze in the regatta.
Ricardo Santos (BRA) and Joao Rodrigues (POR) – two great friends, shared the honours in the men’s RS:X. Santos won the class in the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta, with Rodrigues taking second. That result sealed victory in the overall World Cup series for the Portuguese windsurfer, with Santos coming second.
France’s Julien Bontemps finished third in both the regatta and the series.
Santos said: “I’m very, very happy. It’s been hard work, but I survived. It was really nice to be on the podium with by best friend, Joao.”
Britain’s Richard Hamilton finished eighth.
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