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| © Mark Lloyd |
Ian WILLIAMS from Great Britain won the 2007 ISAF Match Racing World Championship title after sweeping to victory at the Monsoon Cup in Malaysia, the final event of the 2007 World Match Racing Tour. WILLIAMS’ victory in Malaysia was all the more fitting as he claimed his title by defeating 2006 World Champion Peter GILMOUR (AUS) in the final.
WILLIAMS followed up his world title competing at Grade 2 and 3 events in Europe where he claimed yet more podium positions before returning to the World Match Racing Tour in April 2008. WILLIAMS competed at all five Tour events of the 2008 season which took place within the nomination period and picked up podium finishes at three of them.
The first event of the 2008 Tour was the Brasil Sailing Cup in Vitoria, Brazil and WILLIAMS signalled his intentions from the outset. After leading into the knockout stages he eventually finished third but secured valuable early points on the Tour leadboard. Consistent results from WILLIAMS and Team Pindar and they were at the top of the Tour Standings at the end of the nomination period with a total of 72 points, a cushion of 15 points over their nearest rivals. WILLIAMS rounded off the nomination period with victory at the Danish Open in Frederikshavn.
The city lawyer who left the court house for the race course has become one of the great names on the match racing circuit and has flirted with the # 1 position of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings throughout the nomination period.
6 - Latium Match Cup, Fiumicino, ITA - ISAF Grade W - Sep 2007
12 - King Edward VII Gold Cup, Hamilton, BER - ISAF Grade W - Oct 2007
5 - Brasil Sailing Cup, Vitoria, BRA - ISAF Grade W - Nov 2007
1 - Monsoon Cup, Kuala Terengganu, MAS - ISAF Grade W - Nov 2007
1 - ISAF Match Racing World Championship & World Match Race Tour Winner
1 - RYA Winter Challenge 2, GBR - ISAF Grade 2 - Dec 2007
3 - RYA Winter Challenge 3, GBR - ISAF Grade 2 - Feb 2008
1 - GKSS Ice Breaker, Langedrag, SWE - ISAF Grade 3 - Apr 2008
3 - Brasil Sailing Cup, Vitoria, BRA - ISAF Grade W - Apr 2008
4 - Match Race Germany, Langenargen, GER - ISAF Grade W - May 2008
2 - Korea Match Cup, Jeongok, KOR - ISAF Grade W - Jun 2008
9 - GKSS Match Cup Sweden, Marstrand, SWE - ISAF Grade W - Jun 2008
1 - Danish Open, Frederikshavn, DEN - ISAF Grade W - Aug 2008
ISAF World Match Race Rankings position at the end of the nomination period (30 July 2008) – #2
ISAF World Match Race Rankings #1 from 26 September to 24 October 2007 and from 25 June to 30 July 2008.
| Name |
Ian WILLIAMS |
| Place of birth |
Exeter, Great Britain |
| Date of birth |
26 April 1977 |
| Profession |
Sailor
Lawyer
|
| ISAF Sailor ID |
GBRIW1 |
| What inspired you to take up sailing? |
I didn't have much choice - My parents took me sailing as soon as I was born. |
| What was the first boat you sailed and how old were you? |
Contessa 32 - six weeks |
| Name your first sailing club |
Exe SC |
| What was the first event you competed in and when? |
1988 International Cadet Class National Championships, UK |
| What are your personal highlights of your career to date? |
2007 ISAF Match Racing World Champion
2006 - 2nd ISAF Match Racing World Championship
2008 - Danish Open winner
2007 - Monsoon Cup winner
2007 - St. Moritz Match Race - winner
2006 - Bermuda Gold Cup - winner
3 times UK National Match Racing Champion
|
| What are your future sailing goals? |
To continue to dominate the World Match Racing Tour and to win the America's Cup |
| Who has had the greatest impact on your sailing career and why? |
Andrew PINDAR - without his and his company's support the team could not have come this far. |
| Who is your sailing hero? |
Russell COUTTS |
| What other sports do you enjoy? |
Skiing, windsurfing, canyoning |
| What does being nominated for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards mean to you? |
Recognition at this level vindicates my decision 3 years ago to give up my job as a lawyer in the city and take on sailing full time. It also shows the standing that the World Match Racing Tour has in the world of sailing and recongnizes how tough it is to win. |
| If you were voted as the winner, what would this mean to you? |
It would be the greatest honour ever bestowed on me.
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