ISAF Sailing World Cup Medals

As we already know the Australians have yet again shone this year and as well as winning the 2010 470 World Championships, Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page have also wrapped up the 2009-2010 ISAF Sailing World Cup.

Regardless of where they finish at the final event of the World Cup event series, Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta, they have already secured the World Cup title - a remarkable achievement. In the women's 470, the outcome is a little more open with theoretically, on a number crunching basis, seven teams still in the running for a World Cup medal.

Whilst anything can happen, it is more likely that the battle for medals will be between the current top three in the World Cup standings. Marseilles based Ingrid Petitjean and Nadège Douroux (FRA) hold a slender one point lead having claimed silver medals in Miami and Palma, and bronze in Medemblik.

The French pair go to the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta in Weymouth having just secured fourth in the recent 470 World Championship in Holland. Their team colleagues, Emmanuelle Rol and Hélène Defrance will be hard on their heels, and only one point back in third is Henriette Koch and Lene Sommer of Denmark. All three teams count points from just four regattas of the series, so need a result in Weymouth to secure the optimum opportunity. There is an outside chance of Sailing World Cup medals for four more very talented crews entered but the top three have stolen a march on the rest of the field. The French performance here may also have a significant influence on the national battle between France and Great Britain for the overall nation trophy across the ten Olympic events.

In the Men's 470 class Australians Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page have sailed themselves into an unassailable position, including two wins and two second places, and so far discarding a fourth and their worst result this season, a sixth in Hyeres. Even if they failed to secure World Cup standing points in Weymouth, meaning they would finish outside the top 20 (which is most unlikely!) and take a 0 points score (which could then be discarded), they would instead count their 17 points from Palma, still securing them victory. Belcher and Page have also just sealed a fifth 470 World Championship win last month, the fifth for Malcolm Page. Whilst they go into Skandia Sail for Gold victorious in the ISAF Sailing World Cup, the team will no doubt be aiming to achieve victory in the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta as well.

Whilst the chasing pack will be left to battle for silver and bronze, there are a few teams still in the hunt. Anton Dahlberg and Sebastian Östling (SWE) just stole the gold from the Australians on the finish line in the medal race in Miami. The Aussies reversed the positions in the previous regatta of the series in Kiel. Dahlberg and Ostling have sailed in all regattas except Melbourne and have amassed 71 points overall.

The consistent French pairing of Pierre Leboucher and Vincent Garos have not finished out of the top six at all four Sailing World Cup regattas they have sailed to record 67 points, only one point ahead of the 2007 and 2008 World Championship bronze medallists Gideon Kliger and Eran Sela of Israel.

For the overall Sailing World Cup series score to determine the winners in each of the Olympic Classes, five out of seven events will be counted; at least one of the discarded events being a European Sailing World Cup event.

More Information:
Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta
ISAF Sailing World Cup

Story source: ISAF - amended by 470 Class