Nikita Chernykh won bronze in Valencia!

March 9, 20203min read

Today

On March 8, the third season of the OptiOrangeValencia international children's sailing regatta ended in Valencia. According to the results of the competition, Sweden and Switzerland celebrated the overall victory, and Nikita Chernykh, an athlete at the Academy of Sailing and a member of the experimental team of the Optimist class Association, won bronze. His teammate Julia Naimushina finished fifth in the standings of younger girls (under 13 years old).

Nikita Chernykh won bronze in Valencia!

Initiated by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club and the Royal Valencia Yacht Club, the OptiOrangeValencia regatta continues to evolve. The third season, which began on March 6, brought together nearly 350 athletes from 27 countries, including dozens of national champions and leaders in the ratings of their countries.

During the three days of the competition, the capricious weather tested the participants for strength. If on the first day of OptiOrangeValencia in stormy conditions it was possible to conduct only one race, then further, with the weakening of the wind, the rhythm of the regatta was adjusted. In parallel with the change of weather, every day he led new athletes into the leaders. As expected, everything was decided in the final race.

Until the last start, the winner of the Russian championship, a pupil of the Academy of Sailing Kirill Shunenkov, retained the chances of a medal. He opened the regatta with a victory and constantly held in the leading group, continuing to fight for medals. But the unsuccessful final race pushed Cyril to the seventh line.

On the contrary, Cyril's teammate Nikita Chernykh made a very stable performance. He was able to prove himself in all weather conditions and deservedly climbed the podium with a bronze medal – the first for Russians in OptiOrangeValencia since 2018.

Suddenly, the top spots in the overall standings of the young men were won by the Swedes from Malmo Leo Birgerssson and Philippe Bjerkmann. If Leo, who finished 13th in the Optimist -2019 European Championships, was considered a favorite before the start of the regatta, the phenomenal performance of his teammate can be considered the opening of OptiOrangeValencia. Of the seven races held, Philip won two and three times finished in the top five.

Very confident, despite the change of weather, the Swiss athlete Marie Mazay also performed. The athlete from Versua opened the regatta with a victory in stormy weather and then quickly adapted to the dying and unstable wind.

In second place, the only athlete from Portugal, Julia Cardozo, finished. Her result was less stable than that of her competitor, but at a crucial moment Julia concentrated and got ahead of Paulina Rutkovskaya from Gdynia, who spent the final day unsuccessfully, while retaining, however, a bronze medal.

In the standings of younger boys and girls on the final day, the leader changed. Hugo Rodriguez Pascual, a CNArenal student, was ahead of his fellow countryman from Majorca Tim Lubat, who was the leader in the previous days. In the standings of the youngest girls, the Valencian athlete Blanca Ferrando qualified for the “golden” fleet, leaving the early leader of the standings, the British Lila Edwards, without a chance of winning, since she competed in the “silver” fleet.

As for Russian athletes, this season OptiOrangeValencia has developed successfully for them. Nine Russians qualified for the “golden” fleet and two (Nikita Chernykh – with bronze and Kirill Shunenkov in seventh place) entered the top ten in the overall standings. Athletes of the experimental group – Muscovite Nikolai Fastenko and Petersburger Nikolai Larchenkov entered the top ten standings of younger boys. The athlete of the same team Julia Naimushina became the fifth among younger girls.

“The performance in the OptiOrangeValencia regatta became a kind of control after the offseason, when the guys worked actively at the training camp,” says Anna Basalkina, coach of the Experimental Group. – In general, the coaching staff is pleased with the result of the athletes. Junior athletes greatly added in technique and tactics, two qualified in the “Golden Fleet”. As for the older group, the guys lack stability, but there are successes, which indicates our movement in the right direction. ”

Alexey Zhirov,
PR-director of the Yacht Club of St. Petersburg

https://optiorangevalencia.com/en/default/races/race-resultsall

62 Today # 9974

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