Medal Race Keeps Leading Teams at Top

No change after the Medal Race with Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout (NED) winning the 470 Women event having piled on the pressure from the start, and Mat Belcher/Malcolm Page (AUS) winning the 470 Men event after an impressive broken mast comeback.

470 Women
With the title already in their pocket, Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout (NED) enjoyed a stress free medal race, to add another win to their already impressive score. American pair Amanda Clark/Sarah Lihan took second in the race and the event. For Camille Lecointre/Mathilde Géron, the conclusion of the Semaine Olympique Française meant more than a Bronze medal! This event concludes one long year of selections among the top three French 470 teams and a first Olympic qualification for Lecointre/Géron.

However, when converting the points to the ISAF Sailing World Cup Standings, Ai Kondo/Wakako Tabata (JPN) continue to lead the Women's 470 Standings on 55 points after their fourth in Hyères. But Amanda Clark/Sarah Lihan (USA) have piled on the pressure after their silver medal in France. Only two points separate the top two with Kathrin Kadelbach/Friederike Belcher (GER) third on 47 points.

470 Men
“Hyères was one of the events we had not won yet,” said Page. The 470 World champions Belcher/Page have added a third successive Sailing World Cup victory after taking Gold in Miami and Palma. They lead the SWC standings by a large margin. “It was an important event to test ourselves and our material in the breeze. We had some problems when we broke the rig and Malcolm was sick all week.” explains Belcher. “It is the right time to face these problems so we know how to handle them if they happen during the Olympic Games.”

The Croatians Sime Fantela/Igor Marenic won the Medal Race and with it secured the Silver medal. The Coster brothers took the Bronze.

The World #1 Australians sit top of the Men's 470 Standings on 60 points followed by Gideon Kliger and Eran Sela (ISR) and Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis (GRE) who are tied on 47 points.

For the Australians it marks a terrific run of form which saw them finish second at the opening World Cup regatta at Sail Melbourne before victories at the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships, US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR, Trofeo S.A.R. Princess Sofia and today in Hyères.

More Information:
Event Website
470 Men Results
470 Women Results
470 Facebook Photo Gallery
ISAF Sailing World Cup News

Image: Mat Belcher/Malcolm Page (AUS) © Jean-Marie Liot/DPPI/FFVoile
Source: Corinne McKenzie/ISAF