Yesterday
“We had no such experience.”
The press service of the Krestovu Island Sailing School summed up the world championship in the class "Optimist", which, we recall, was held on Antigua Island.
Russian "optimists" have returned to their homeland from the World Cup. The performance in Antigua can hardly be considered successful – all the athletes were driven off in the bronze fleet.
As you know, the world title for the third time in a row won the 15-year-old Italian Marco Gradoni. He was almost 20 points ahead of Maltese rival Richard Schultheis. Bronze – the Spaniard Jaime Ayarza.
Strong winds and a serious current became a real test for the participants of the championship. Wind gusts up to 28 knots and waves up to three meters high forced the organizers to even cancel the final races for the two lower fleets.
“They explained this with technical difficulties,” Ilya Elyshev, the coach of the Krestovsky Island school, said on his return from the championship. – I was on the water, I saw that the installers simply can not put up signs and I realized that the judges were already tired and thought that there was enough racing. Although it was a shame. Many yachtsmen were ready to go on the water, including our racers who wanted to improve their positions.
In general, I am, of course, not satisfied with the performances. It is necessary to draw conclusions. All Russian athletes are engaged in different trainers, and the results are approximately the same for all. Someone is more fortunate, some less.
There were also objective reasons: for example, the material part was late, and we, in fact, practiced our combat sails only one day, right before the regatta. And at Bondar and Ivanov, the sails had to be altered.
The first seventy people of the championship chase on the individual design of the sails. Russia is far behind in this moment. We have the usual serial sails. The speed of the leaders, if you look at the tracks, is almost two times higher than that of our athletes. According to my observations, Russian athletes could not get into the golden fleet. In silver, given the preparation – yes. But not in "gold".
Ocean sval, for fifty meters per minute. We had no such experience. All days blew from one, east direction. The wind accelerated the wave, which must be able to steer. Only those athletes who “sat” in this area were adapted to such conditions: Brazil, Argentina, America, Spain. Surprise was the absence of Switzerland in the golden fleet.
A big analysis after this regatta will still be held, but it is already clear that the selection for the World Cup should take place earlier and end at least one month before the start of this important regatta. Preparation for the world or European championships should begin in six months and arrive in advance in the waters where they will be held. Better – not once. And it would be nice for the guys to have at least one gathering with a specialist who does not know them. Non-Russian, that was an objective view. After all, every coach considers his sportsman to be the best, but rivalry with foreign fleets speaks of something else.
Separately, you need to prepare for the team races, as did Italy, which won this discipline …
271 Yesterday # 9270
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