Today
Sunny and windy!
Frenchman Yun Pulikan and Israeli Maya Nadler lead after first day of World Championship in RS: X junior class
On Tuesday, the first competitive day of the world championship in the RS: X class among juniors took place. Races are held in the waters of the Neva Bay, in the park of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, a racing village was developed.
The northern capital pleases the most talented windsurfers from around the world, not only with hospitality, but also with wonderful weather for the regatta. On Tuesday, the city was sunny and windy – ideal weather for windsurfing. The west wind of 12-15 knots allowed the riders to glide and show the highest speeds. The first race lasted only 24 minutes.
On the first day, ideal weather conditions allowed the judges to conduct three races (half qualification).
“The day was a good one due to wind conditions in this water area,” says Vladimir Komel, the chief judge of the competition. – When we came to the racing zone, we had only six knots, but then the wind added and gained very decent strength. We, the judges, it was very cold on the water, because the wind was cold, and the riders chased naked. When we looked at them, we were a little uneasy.
Three qualifying races brought a lot of surprises. The main sensation is the failure of the reigning world champion Fabien Pianaz. The Frenchman won all the last key starts – the 2018 World Cup, the European Championship 2019 and the World Sailing Championship 2019, but in St. Petersburg he started unsuccessfully. In the first race, Pyanaza finished seventh, and in the second he was disqualified. Only in the third race did Fabien finish first. According to the results of the first competitive day, the reigning champion is in 27th place.
Among the youths, the leader of the racer from France, Yun Pulikan, who scored 6 points, showing the third, second and first arrivals. Following him are the Israelis Reuven Hillel (7 points) and Iyal Yohai Zror (8 points). In April, Hillel was the eighth at the European Junior Championships. For him, this is the first full season in the RS: X class at the international level.
“This is a good day for me, but the third race was not very successful,” says Reuven Hillel. – I chose the left side and miscalculated a little. At the beginning of the race was 13th. Then I worked very hard to rectify the situation and ended up finishing fifth. I try to follow the winds and its strength. In the last race I saw a strong approach from the left side, but did not guess. The main thing is to feel the moment. All my life I have been windsurfing. RS: X is an Olympic class. I chose him because I want to take part in the Olympics. It's my goal.
Israeli windsurfers have taken a leading position in the women's standings. Israeli Maya Nadler (11 points), Naama Greenberg (12) and Lina Geva (13) took first, second and third places. The best of Russia among the girls – Yana Reznikova and Dana Kosyak – go on 5th and 14th places.
“The Israelis are very tough – they like to shout during the race, but if you are not afraid and shout at them in response, then they begin to consider you an opponent,” Dana Kosyak says. – They have training all year round, every day the wind blows and a very rigid selection system (of the order of five to six stages in a variety of weather conditions). To go to the World Cup or Europe from Israel, you need to try very hard.
HOW THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RACE IS
Five to six qualifying races are planned at the World Junior Windsurfing Championships, the same number of final and one medal. In total, the organizers plan to hold 11 races, including the medal. 104 riders from 19 countries are divided into three fleets – two fleets for men (35 and 34 racers) and one for girls (35). During the qualification, the composition of the two male fleets is shuffled in random order. At the end of the qualification, the top 35 windsurfers will make up the golden fleet, and the rest silver.
Alexey Zhirov,
PR-director of the Yacht Club of St. Petersburg.
The official website of the competition –
http://rsx.spbyc.ru/ru
Results –
https://www.sailing-academy.ru/regatyi/2019/rsx-youth-world-championship-2019
62 Today # 9345
Chief Editor
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