World Rankings - NED and FRA Lead

The latest World Rankings see reigning Dutch Coster brothers sit tight in the men's fleet, whilst France's Ingrid Petitjean and Nadege Douroux stake their claim in the women's.

The latest rankings were issued today, 17 February 2010, and reflects performance at ISAF Graded events since the previous rankings released on16 December 2009.

470 Men

Sven Coster and Kalle Coster (NED) hold a comfortable, but by no means unchallengeable margin at the front of the men's rankings. This pairing have not been out of the top three in the world since May 2008, and with recent results of a 12 at the ISAF Grade 1 US SAILING's Miami OCR and and 8 at the 470 North American Championships earlier in January, they seem to be holding firm for a bit longer.

Behind the leaders, the top 10 in the 470 men rankings remain the same, but with just a few but sign movements up and down.

Shooting up into second place on the rankings are Gideon Kliger with Eran Sela (ISR). Gideon has made a few crew changes over the past months, but regardless his team has been a dominant force in the 470 for many years, and held a top 10 position for more than six of those. Kliger and Sela's progress upwards is mainly the result of a bronze medal at Miami OCR, backed up with a fifth at the 470 North Americans.

Another significant mover is the Austrian pairing of Matthias Schmid and Florian Reichstaedter who lift themselves up to fifth from tenth – a continuation of the form the team found last year – and a career highlight on the world rankings. Congratulations.

There are a number of other players working their way towards the top of the rankings who all deserve a mention:

Up to 11 from 20 - Sofian Bouvet and Jeremie Mion (FRA) - career best
Up to 13 from 23 - Ryunosuke Harada and Yuugo Yoshida (JPN)
Up to 20 from 32 - Joonas Lindgren and Niklas Lindgren (FIN)
Up to 28 from 67 - Victor Bergstrom and Marcus Dackhammer (SWE) - career best
Up to 31 from 77 - Adam Roberts and Nicholas Martin (USA) - career best

470 Women

A strong silver medal performance at US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR has pushed Ingrid Petitjean and Nadege Douroux (FRA) back into the number one slot – a position they last claimed in June 2009. A result of 8 at the 470 North American Championship also helped their mission.

Behind this change, a bit of a shake-up has taken place in the top 10 and top 20 of the Women's 470 World Rankings. The biggest movers are Gil Cohen and Dan Mamriev (ISR) who have moved up to break into the world's top 20 and achieve a career best of 17 in the world, up 23 places from 40, and despite only counting 5 events of a possible 7. Their form has been proven with a fifth and sixth place respectively at US Sailing's Rolex Miami OCR and the 470 North Americans. This young team are clearly ones to watch for the future. Last year, amongst crews with far more years to their name, they claimed a sixteenth place at the 2009 470 World Championships, which was preceded by a silver medal at the 2009 470 Junior World Championships.

We also have to mention the two-time Olympic gold medallist Sarah Ayton (GBR) who has made her name on the Olympic circuit in the women's keelboat event, but in Miami this year found herself propelled into the 470 Class. Ayton proved that sailing talent transposes class of boat, by finishing in thirteenth place to give her an opening position of 77 on the ISAF Sailing World Rankings.

Another new entry is last year's Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship Gold Medallist in the 420, Martine Soffiatti Grael, who is sailing with 2008 Olympic Bronze Medallist Isabel Swan. Grael has made her debut appearance on the World Rankings at 56 thanks to a strong performance in Miami, where the pair finished tenth.

More Movers and Shakers are …...
Up to 8 from 14 – Molly Carapiet and Jennifer Morgan (USA) - career best
Up to 11 from 18 – Camille Lecointre and Mathilde Geron (FRA) - career best
Up to 14 from 20 – Lisa Ericson and Astrid Gabrielsson (SWE) - career best 

More Information:
ISAF Sailing World Rankings - 470 Men
ISAF Sailing World Rankings - 470 Women
2010 Ranking Release Dates

Image: Matthias Schmid and Florian Reichstaedter (AUT) © www.aut3.com/de