Teams were faced with soaring temperatures and challenging light air conditions today during Qualifying Session three of the Stena Match Cup Sweden in Marstrand, as the final races of the Qualifying round determine which 8 of the 14 team field will advance to the Quarter Finals.
Defending ISAF World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar remains undefeated with a 10-0 scoreline, needing just one more win from his last 3 races to finish at the top of the standings, and thus earn him first choice of his Quarter Final opponent.
"Flight 20 was the first time we have really been behind this week. We had a bit of work to do, Keith [Swinton] had a pretty good lead on us at one point. But it was so fickle out there, so we focused on our own shifts and it came good for us." said Williams.
Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing sits two points behind Williams with 8 points, with Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One in third with 7 points alongside the Swedish favourites Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing, and Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team.
After his impressive performance yesterday, Berntsson faced a difficult day after being black flagged in his race against Dane Joachim Aschenbrenner, and then dropping three penalties against Taylor Canfield. As if it wasn’t enough, Berntsson then received an unfortunate knock to the head requiring him to come ashore briefly. However he and his Berntsson Sailing Team know the Marstrand waters better than any, and his Quarter Final place seems safe for now.
Fellow Swede Nicklas Dackhammar from Essiq Racing also struggled today with two losses from three races resulting in the team dropping to the lower half of the leaderboard.
"Of course we are disappointed because we are fierce competitors just like all the other teams" added Dackhammar. "But we are happy with our performance even if we have had some ups and downs. To compete here at Marstrand this week has been a dream come true for us."
11 teams from the 14 team field can technically still gain enough points to advance to the Quarter Finals, with Denmark’s Rasmus Viltoft , Austrlalia’s Sam Gilmour and Sweden’s Anna Ostling now out of the competition.
Racing resumes tomorrow at 10.30 for the final three flights of Qualifying after which the Quarter Final picks will be made. During the afternoon the event’s charity, the Childhood Foundation will host an array of Swedish stars from the world of sport, television and music in the Stena Match Cup Celebrity Race.
2015/16 World Match Racing Tour
World Championship Event - Stena Match Cup Sweden
QUALIFYING RESULTS After Flight 20
1. Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 10-0
2. Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 8–5
3. Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One 7-3
4. Björn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing 7-3
5. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 7-6
6. Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) Aschenbrenner Racing 6-4
7. Eric Monnin (SUI) Team SailBox 6-4
8. Reuben Corbett (NZL) Corbett Racing 6-4
9. Simone Ferrarese (ITA) Ferrarese Racing 6-7
10. Nicklas Dackhammar (SWE) Essiq Racing 6-7
11. Phil Robertson (NZL) Team TREFOR 5-5
12. Rasmus Viltoft (DEN) Team Viltof 3-7
13. Sam Gilmour (AUS) Neptune Racing 2-11
14. Anna Östling (SWE) Team Anna 0-13
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only
Recent Articles
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
