Yesterday
Extreme on the island of Pintan
In China, the third stage of the World Cup in kiteboarding in the discipline "Formula kite". Here is the press service of the Academy of Sailing of the Yacht Club of St. Petersburg:
Competitions were held on the east coast of China, on the island of Pintan. Traditionally, this stage is distinguished by the most extreme weather conditions. Strong winds caused by the typhoon that hit the east of China in early September, in gusts reached 30 knots. After relative weak winds with a force of 6-8 knots at the previous stage in Weifang, such conditions seemed real extreme.
28 athletes from 13 countries took part in the regatta. The third stage in Pintan is the penultimate one before the final of the World Cup in kiteboarding in Italian Cagliari, which will be held from October 2 to 6. Therefore, all the strongest athletes gathered in the east of China in the hope of improving their position in the overall standings before the final stage.
Athlete of the Academy of Sailing Elena Kalinina in the first two stages finished in the top three among the girls. In the Italian Gizzeria, the Russian woman came third, and in Chinese Weifang – the second. In the second stage, Kalinina beat the current World Cup winner Kirstin O’Brien from the United States. An American, who loves to chase in strong winds, arrived in Pintan with the desire to take revenge from our athlete.
From the very first races, the status of the favorite was proved by another American – Daniela Moroz, who won in the previous two stages. She immediately took the lead and did not allow her rivals. As a result, Daniela won the regatta in the women's standings with 202 points and took 12th place in the overall standings.
But for the second line, a stubborn struggle was expected to unfold. In almost every race, Kirstin was a little stronger than our athlete. The American was much better suited to the extreme wind conditions of Pintan. On the final day of the regatta, the organizers did have to mark the race because of the heavy wind. According to the results of 17 starts, O’Brian surpassed Kalinin by 23 points.
“At this point, I competed with Elena Kalinina and Khairan Zhang,” says silver medalist Kirstin O’Brian. – I like to go next to these athletes. This rivalry and struggle makes the race much more interesting. I learn a lot when I see which side the rivals choose, at what speed and at what angle they go. So I understand that works better. "
“At the second stage in Weifang, the conditions were simpler. In the weak and medium wind, I managed to perform better, ”says Elena Kalinina, who won bronze in the third stage of the World Cup. – In Pintan, there were difficult conditions: strong wind, big waves and a lot of garbage in the water. The beginning of the regatta did not work out very well for me: I took a kite of the wrong size and because of this I lost a few races, then I suddenly broke the trapeze. I was not quite ready for such difficult conditions. In general, for me it was more of a training regatta – I analyzed the speeds, checked the equipment and concluded that I needed to work harder in the strong wind. I think this regatta will benefit me before the most important starts of the season. "
Recall that from October 2 to 6, the final stage of the KiteFoil World Series World Cup will be held in Cagliari. And from October 11 to 16, Qatar will host the World Beach Games, which are held by the International Olympic Committee. In these regattas, an athlete of the Academy of Sailing Elena Kalinina will also compete for medals.
62 Yesterday # 9485
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