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Both these classes were contested in the 2004 Paralympics and the World Championship in Denmark will surely reunite many of the sailors who battled for Gold in Athens.
Damien SEGUIN (FRA) will be hoping to add to his Paralympic gold medal in the single-person keelboat, although he is likely to be challenged by 2003 Word Champion and 'man-to-beat' Heiko KROEGER (GER) who just missed out on a medal in Athens. Also don't discount Paralympic silver medallist Thomas BROWN (USA) and Thierry SCHMITTER (NED) who finished third in both the 2004 Paralympics and the 2003 World Championships.
The three-person keelboat title could see another battle between the Israelis and the Dutch. The Dutch took the World Championship in 2003 with the Israelis a close second, only for their positions to be reversed in last year's Paralympics in Athens. Dror COHEN (ISR), Arnon EFRATI (ISR) and Benni VEXLER (ISR) will be confident of success after their gold medal although again they should expect stiff competition from strong British and American teams.
After registration and the Opening Ceremony, competition starts on 31 August. Competitors will race over five days battling it out for the prestigious title of International Foundation for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) World Champion with the winners of the Sonar class also taking away the Collot d'Escury Trophy. gold, silver and bronze medals will be decided by a nine race series on windward-leeward courses in the beautiful Sønderborg Bay.
Potential competitors have until the 7 July to enter the Championships. The Invitation and the Notice of Race are now both available the IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championship website. Registration, classification and measurement will take place from 29-30 August. The afternoon of 30 August will see the tune up race and the Championships will really get underway with the Opening Ceremony that night. After the final races on 4 September the Ceremonial Prize Giving and Regatta Closing will end the Championships.
The International Foundation for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) is an affiliate member of ISAF and responsible for disabled sailing worldwide. The 2004 Paralympics in Athens saw over 70 athletes from 19 nations competing for medals in the Sonar and 2.4mR classes. So far it looks like the event in Denmark is going to be just as successful.