December 24, 2019
Euromed regatta ends in Malta
Successful for young Russian athletes in the Optimist class was the jubilee, 20th season of the international Euromed regatta in Malta. In the main fleet, where trained Optimist class athletes performed, Kirill Shunenkov entered the top ten overall standings.
Participation in the Maltese regatta Euromed is a traditional number of the off-season training program for Russian athletes. This year, with the support of the Optimist class Association, the Russian team has been significantly expanded. The team included athletes from Sevastopol, Moscow, Gelendzhik, Krasnodar, St. Petersburg and Azov. The age of the participants is 10-14 years old (2005-2009). Recruitment to the experimental group was carried out on a general basis on the basis of medical tests and sports achievements.
More than a week-long stay of the Russian team in Malta was eventful. Before the start of Euromed, a gathering was conducted under the guidance of coaches Vadim Mechanikov, Anna Basalkina, Kristina Yezhova and Denis Razumovich. Also, a coach of 8 Days a Week, David Labrush, was invited to work with a separate group.
The distribution into groups of athletes of different ages and training was designed for an individual approach to each athlete. Theoretical and practical exercises on the water were held, which were accompanied by video shooting and work on the bugs.
The team came in good shape to the start of the competition. But the Euromed 2019 program was constantly in jeopardy due to a forecasted storm from the south. And, indeed, the final days of the competition were held in fresh winds, but all 12 planned races took place.
The increase in wind also significantly affected the results of Russian yachtsmen. Finishing ninth in the overall standings, Russian medalist Kirill Shunenkov opened the 67th competition. But gradually he was able to get much higher, and in the final race he came second.
Andrei Sotnikov, the senior comrade of Cyril, a pupil of the Rautu team and the Academy, moved from the 35th line on the first day, with six parishes in the top ten to the 15th line in the overall classification.
For younger but already experienced team athletes, fresh winds of over 20 knots are still a difficult test. “Academician” Nikita Chernykh opened the competition on the 15th, with a victory and a second parish, but finished 27th, although he had an excellent qualification.
Quite a bit was not enough for the medal in the standings of the girls to the winner of the Russian championship Varvara Yurieva from Gelendzhik. At the start of the regatta, she was in the third ten (12th among the girls), but found strength and finished fourth in her group and 46th in the overall standings.
Also the fourth in the younger group of the main fleet (Cadet) was Nikolay Larchenkov.
In total, six Russians entered the gold fleet of the regatta with more than 200 participants from 25 countries.
I was pleased with the success of young Russian yachtsmen in the Beginners group, which competed at a separate distance. Here from the start Muscovite Alexander Fastenko was the leader and the winner. In the standings of the girls, there was a struggle between the Russians, in which the representative of the sailing dynasty Veronika Basalkina won, overtaking also the offspring of the famous sailing family Elizaveta Chekhlataya from Sevastopol, which was the first at the start of the competition.
“Traditionally, Euromed provides a very good training base and a lot of data for planning further training,” comments one of the coaches of the Association’s Experimental Group, Denis Razumovich, “For example, the Maltese fleet has been updated this season, many young athletes like us. Accordingly, it is interesting to analyze the performance and speed indicators of our athletes. In addition, the conditions throughout the regatta were constantly changing, thus giving our junior and novice athletes a chance to prove themselves, to feel that they can perform in a large international fleet at a decent level. ”
Philip Kovalev,
Press Service of the Optimist Class Yacht Association
Euromed 2019 Results –
https://euromed.maltayoungsailors.com/2019-results/
182 December 24, 2019 # 9777
Chief Editor
endseuromedmaltaregatta
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