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After an uncharacteristic first race in which he finished 17, SCHEIDT blitzed the rest of the regatta with his worst result coming in race 11 when he finished third. With a total of nine wins in the 14-race series, SCHEIDT took his eighth title with a massive 34 point margin from second placed Diego ROMERO (ARG).

SCHEIDT has an amazing list of achievements; eight Laser World titles, two Olympic gold medals (1996 and 2004), one Olympic silver medal (2000) and he holds 123 sailing titles in all; 102 of them in the Laser.

Commenting on his win, SCHEIDT said, 'since the beginning of the year I had this championship as my main goal. I'm thrilled and aware that I did a lot for Brazil's sport.

'As for my career, it is far from being over. I don't want to decide anything right now, because I'm too excited about the title. I would rather let this moment pass and talk to some people before making any hard decisions.

'It was fantastic to bring this championship to Ceara, this Worlds will be in history forever and leave an important legacy to sport here. The organisation, in the name of Philipe NOTTINGHAM, deserves our congratulations, because a championship like this involves a gigantic structure.'

An excited Diego ROMERO (ARG) finished the Worlds second overall and had this to say: 'This was the most important title in my life. This championship was impressive. The competitors were really well prepared and tough to overcome. Now I have to keep working hard. The sailing conditions in Fortaleza are perfect. I love sailing in Brazil and I think this helped me a lot.' ROMERO sailed a consistent series and not including his BFD in race six, only once finished outside the top eight.

New Zealander, Andrew MURDOCH, made his move from fifth place two days ago into the bronze medal position on the final day, picking up a bullet in race 13 telling organisers, 'my performance was very good. I'm not surprised with the results, I was very confident.

'Although this was the last day, I didn't feel pressured, it was a good day. Now I will go to another five championships in New Zealand, two in Australia and a few more in Europe.'

Vasilij ZBOGAR (SLO) who won the bronze medal in Athens last year and who was for so many days was in a top three position, had to settle for fourth overall, with Mate ARAPOV (CRO), also in medal contention, finishing fifth. ISAF World Sailing Rankings' number two Laser sailor, Paul GOODISON, did not have a good regatta and finished twelfth, with a best race place of fourth. Teammate Mark POWELL the 2001 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Champion in the Laser who is ranked at number 35 in the world however had a much better regatta finishing ninth overall.

In an excellent result for Australia, Queenslander Brendan CASEY moved up one place to finish sixth overall - his best result for some time, whilst Jeremie STEYAERT (FRA), who led the regatta on the first day and was looking good for a medal, finished a disappointing seventh.

For seven days, Fortaleza was the scene of Worlds, which gathered 136 of the best Laser sailors in the world, representing 37 countries.
The Laser Master World Championship starts in Fortaleza from September 30 to October 8.

The next release of the ISAF World Sailing Rankings will take place on Wednesday 5 October.

Final Results - Top ten

Pos	Nation	Name	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	R13	R14	Pts
1	BRA	Robert SCHEIDT	(17)	2	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	(3)	1	2	1	15
2	ARG	Diego Emilio ROMERO	5	7	2	3	(13)	(bfd)	3	1	4	3	6	3	8	4	49
3	NZL	Andrew MURDOCH	(14)	1	11	1	5	2	5	3	7	24	1	(dns)	1	7	68
4	SLO	Vasilij ZBOGAR	4	4	5	2	2	4	2	(9)	11	6	11	15	(26)	10	76
5	CRO	Mate ARAPOV	1	4	(13)	3	7	2	6	6	8	13	14	12	5	(15)	81
6	AUS	Brendan CASEY	15	13	1	6	4	(19)	1	12	2	5	(25)	5	18	11	93
7	FRA	Jeremie STEYAERT	4	1	(14)	5	3	1	10	2	5	20	13	7	(bfd)	41	112
8	POR	Gustavo LIMA	8	6	9	(17)	7	15	12	7	(26)	2	26	2	19	3	116
9	GBR	Mark POWELL	7	(20)	11	7	2	3	20	3	16	7	12	13	(41)	19	120
10	BRA	André Delanhesi STREPPEL	9	(24)	16	4	4	6	4	16	(42)	12	38	6	6	5	126