Championship Goes Down To The Wire
Splash World Championship 2005
Puck, Poland
Hielke DIJKSTRA (NED) produced a stunning finish to claim the Splash World title in Puck, Poland. Bullets in the final two races drew him level on points with Mark BONSINK (NED) and broke the tie break in his favour.
Going into the weekend BONSINK held a six point lead at the top after six races, whilst Hielke DIJKSTRA (NED) was back in third places overall, just behind Andy MALONEY (NZL). The final three races of the Championship saw the top sailors competing against each other in the gold fleet and initially DIJKSTRA struggled. He finished 19 in race seven and with BONSINK placing twelfth and MALONEY second, it looked as if his title hopes were fast disappearing.
MALONEY struggled in the following two races, twice finishing outside the top ten to end up in third position overall. Whilst DIJKSTRA took a bullet in race eight, BONSINK finished eighth. This meant any score better than twelfth in race nine would see BONSINK claim the title. However he fell to 14th overall, DIJKSTRA powered to another win and took the title by the narrowest of margins.
Top Ten Results
| Pos |
Nation |
Helm |
R1 |
R2 |
R3 |
R4 |
R5 |
R6 |
R7 |
R8 |
R9 |
Pts |
| 1 |
NED |
Hielke DIJKSTRA |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
(44) |
19 |
1 |
1 |
38 |
| 2 |
NED |
Mark BONSINK |
1 |
2 |
9 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
12 |
8 |
(14) |
38 |
| 3 |
NZL |
Andy MALONEY |
3 |
6 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
(17) |
2 |
14 |
11 |
42 |
| 4 |
NED |
Steyn SCHILTKAMP |
4 |
1 |
6 |
7 |
(24) |
5 |
6 |
12 |
4 |
45 |
| 5 |
BEL |
Laura MAES |
5 |
3 |
2 |
13 |
1 |
8 |
5 |
(24) |
16 |
53 |
| 6 |
NZL |
Blair TUKE |
7 |
(OCS) |
4 |
7 |
5 |
19 |
1 |
6 |
7 |
56 |
| 7 |
NZL |
Ersin BUCKLEY |
4 |
6 |
2 |
(OCS) |
9 |
6 |
7 |
13 |
9 |
56 |
| 8 |
POL |
Grzegorz NADOLNY |
6 |
(21) |
5 |
17 |
4 |
1 |
21 |
4 |
6 |
64 |
| 9 |
NED |
Daan FRERIKS |
2 |
5 |
7 |
10 |
18 |
14 |
(32) |
7 |
8 |
71 |
| 10 |
NZL |
Matthew JACOBSON |
11 |
7 |
(24) |
20 |
12 |
4 |
9 |
5 |
5 |
73 |
ISAF. Image:© splashworlds.org