AN EXCEPTIONAL LINE-UP FOR THE 470 EUROPEANS IN MARINA DEGLI AREGAI, ITALY
04 May 2019The 470 Europeans are just a few days away. From 6 to 14 May the race area just off Marina degli Aregai,in Santo Stefano al Mare on Italy’s Ligurian Riviera, will gather the very best of the world’s 470 sailors.
Organised by Yacht Club Sanremo in co-operation with Yacht Club degli Aregai, the Italian and International 470 class, the championship boasts a truly world class line-up. Several teams are in fact coming from countries outside of Europe, some as far away as China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, the USA, Argentina or Brazil for as many as 29 countries, and some true newcomers like the team from Malesia and India.
The championship is open to non-Europeans crews, who can use it as a qualifying event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but cannot compete for the title. Fleets will be split in two groups: one for women and one for men and the newly introduced mixed crews. In total more than 115 teams have confirmed their presence.
The 470 Europeans consist of a series of fleet races and a final medal race for the top 10 teams in each fleet. The racing will be on windward/leeward or trapezoid courses. The Championship will open on Monday May 6, with teams finalising entries and measurements through to Tuesday 7, when the official opening ceremony will take place in the late afternoon in the Marina degli Aregai. Racing is planned from Wednesday 8 to Tuesday 14, with the medal races and the closing ceremony.
Among the top guns of the class participating is the numerous world champion and double Olympic medalist Mathew Belcher from Australia teaming with Will Ryan; New Zelanders Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox fresh from winning the Genoa World Series event; Stuart Mcnay and David Hughes from the USA and the Europeans Takis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis bronze Rio Medallists from Greece, Swedish duo Anton Dahlberg/Fredrik Bergström, Luke Patience and Chris Grube from the UK, Spain’s Jordi Xammar and Nicolas Rodriguez, Italy’s Matteo Capurro and Matteo Puppo, Giacomo Ferrari and Giulio Calabrò, all in all the first 15 teams of the world ranking will be racing in Aregai.
Rio’s Gold Olympic Medallist Hannah Mills and Eilidh Mcintyre from UK, Silvia Mas Depares/Patricia Cantero Reina from Spain, Dutch team Afrodite Zegers and Lobke Berkhout, China’s Manxi Wei and Haiyan Gao, third in the world ranking and runners-up in Genoa right one spot in front of young Italians Benedetta Di Salle and Alessandra Dubbini, will be the teams to look out for among the girls that will give battles for the podium.
The star-studded fleets will be matched by the international Race Commitee, led by Italian judges Dodi Villani and Mario Lupinelli, and the International Jury with President Stanislav Kasparov from Bulgaria and Israel’s Nino Shmueli, who acted as PRO at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Another big name in Santo Stefano al Mare will be Victor Kovalenko, considered as one of the best coaches of the 470 class, so much to be called "The Medal Maker”, as under his guidance nine teams have won an Olympic medal, six of which gold. Kovalenko is currently working with the Australian team.
The 470 European Championship is supported by Marina degli Aregai and Marina degli Aregai hotel & resort from the Cozzi Parodi Group, together with the Liguria Region and by the long-established partners of Yacht Club Sanremo.
** The full entry list at the official event website http://www.2019europeans.470.org