News & Features | ISAF | World Sailing | Official Site : Opti World Champion Leads

News

12 July 2005, 11:03 am

Opti World Champion Leads

470 Junior European Championship 2005

Tallinn, Estonia

Sailors from seven nations are inside the top ten places going into the finals at the 470 Junior (Under 22) European Championship in Tallinn, Estonia. The fleet is headed by Croatia's 2000 Optimist World Champion Sime FANTELA with crew Igor MARENIC.

Conducted as part of the 25th Anniversary of the Tallinn Olympic Regatta of the Moscow Games, just over 75 teams representing a total of 19 nations have made the trip to the city. Racing has been incredibly tight and after six races just four points cover places one to five.

The leading Croatians, who were bronze medalists in 2004's 470 Junior Worlds, lead the fleet by three points with the final eight races starting Tuesday and finishing on Friday.

Christopher LORENZ and Friedrich GEBERT (GER) have stepped up this year and finished the qualifying series in second overall but have the experience in Junior 470 to keep the pressure on FANTELA and MARENIKC.

Britain's 2004 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship bronze medallists in the 420, Johny MCGOVERN and Tom MAPPLEBECK led the regatta after day one, but go into the finals just behind Poland's Patryk PIASECKI and Jacek PRZYBYLAK in fourth and third respectively.

Part of the 20 boat strong German team, Daria BLASCHKIEWITZ and Geeske GENRICH are showing great form in the light conditions as the leading women's team and are in eighth overall with Switzerland's Emmanuelle ROL and Anne Sophie THILO as second women overall and Noa BOTZER and Laia TRAJTENBERG (ISR) chasing hard in third.