09 Jul 2023
DAY 5 REPORT OF 2023 420/470 JUNIOR EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
470:
French sailors Matisse Pacaud and Lucie De Gennes have secured the title of Junior European Champions in the 470 class. Only the medal race with the top 10 crews remains to be sailed in Gdynia on Monday, but the defending champions from last year in Vilamoura, as well as the current junior world champions, have a significant advantage over their competitors and no one can take away their gold medals. They only need to sail the Medal Race.
On the fifth day of the regatta in the Bay of Gdańsk, the wind conditions were light, and only one race was sailed in the 470 class instead of the planned two. "The wind blew at a speed of five to eight knots. In the second race, the boats almost reached the top mark, but then we had to suspend the competition because the wind shifted and died down. We waited for an hour for the weather to improve, but it didn't happen. The conditions were borderline. On the committee boat, we had five to six knots, but up top, it ranged from 3.5 to 4.5," explained the Race Officer of this class, Michał Jodłowski.
Matisse Pacaud and Lucie De Gennes have won six out of the 10 races so far. On Sunday, they finished in fifth place, but still strengthened their lead. Their compatriots Manon Pennaneach and Pierre Williot, who are in second place, are trailing the leaders by 43 points, while the Israeli crew of Roy Levy and Ariel Gal is in third place with 48 points.
Levy and Gal are also leading in the under-21 category. They are followed by the Spanish team of Neus Ballester Bover and Jaime Wizner, as well as the Greek duo of Lampis Evlampios Giannoulis and Eleni Giannouli.
The Medal Race will begin on Monday at 11 o'clock. After that, the crews ranking from 11th to 35th will sail the Last Race.
420:
The penultimate day of the Junior European Championships in the 420 class in Gdynia did not bring any changes in the positions of the leaders. In the open category, Greek sailors Iakovina Kerkezou and Danae Giannouli continue to hold the top spot leading the Women's Fleet, while their compatriots Giorgios Michalopoulos and Ion Stromatias lead the under-17 Fleet.
On Sunday, due to light winds, only one race out of the planned two was completed in the Gold Fleet in the open category, and the race in the Silver Fleet was abandoned. In the under-17 Fleet, sailors managed to start a race as well.
After nine races, Kerkezou and Giannouli have an eight-point lead over the Spanish team of Miguel Hernandez and Alejandro Corujo, and a 21-point lead over Zou Schemmel and Jean-Philippe Boudard from France. On Sunday, the French team secured second place, moving up from fourth to third position in the overall standings. Meanwhile, the Italian pair of Corrado Cicconetti and Francesco Vassallo, who were previously in the top three, dropped to the eighth place.
In the women's division, the German team of Valentina Steinlein and Lea Adolph is in second place, followed by the French duo of Alice Vandi and Juliette Bourgeois in third. In the mixed teams category, Italians Marco Maresca and Nina Bramucci are leading the pack, with two Greek teams - Dimitrios Bitros and Cleio Soulioti, as well as Maria Sarikavazi and Evangelos Bouzanas - also in the top three.In the Junior European Championships in the 420 class, 110 teams from 16 countries are competing in the open category, while 63 duos from 15 countries are vying for the title in the under-17 category.
The decisive final races will take place on Monday.
Follow the championship at https://2023junioreuropeans.