Germany duo Wagner Jan-Jaspe and Baldwein Dustin and French pair Camille Lecointre-Sophie De Turckheim clinched the men’s and women’s title respectively at the 47th World Military Sailing Championship (470 Class), which concluded at Doha Bay yesterday. Qatar’s men, meanwhile, who had a chance to finish on podium, settled for fifth spot.

The men’s title was pretty much sealed going into the final day, but the women’s title went down to the wire. However, Lecointre and Turckheim kept their nerves to claim the top spot ahead of Russia’s Alisa Kiriluyk and Liudmila Dmitrieva, by just one nett point.

Only two races were held yesterday, as the organisers had to cancel the last race, owing to tough course conditions. The day had begun brightly, but by noon the wind had picked up too much as the competitors were unable to complete the third race. With thunderstorms expected later in the sea, the organisers thought it was wise to call it off, which meant 11 races constituted the championship instead of 12.

Frenchwoman Lecointre and Turckheim finished second in both the races, while Russia’s Kiriluyk and Dmitrieva won the first race but came third in the second, which spoiled their title hopes.

French sailor Lecointre was delighted with the victory, and said she was happy that they were able to encounter tough course editions. “It was not easy because the wind had picked up too much today. But were calm and did not try to panic. The gap was very small between us and Russians but we managed to stay ahead. I was racing with Sophie for the first time and we had having a lot of fun. We enjoyed our stay in Doha and the facilities were top class,” she said.

The biggest gainers yesterday, however, were Poland which jumped from fifth spot to third. Katarzyna Tylinska and Aleksandra Tulodziecka came third in the opening race and improved in the next by winning it, to finish ahead of Ukraine’s Anna Kyselova and Anastasiya Krasko by 2 nett points.

In the men’s competition, the German pair Jan-Jaspe and Dustin were cut above the rest. Out of 11 races they won 10 races, making it impossible for anyone to catch them up. Dustin said his previous experience of sailing in Doha had helped them. “We had a dream championship. We won almost everything. I was here in 2011 and knew the course well, so that clearly helped. Today the conditions were difficult but we held on,” said the German.

Ukraine’s Broys Shvets and Pavlo Matsyev came second overall as they finished fourth in the first race and second in the next race. Poland’s Marcin Czajkowski and Piotr Przybylski and India’s Pushparajan Muttu and Narendra Singh Rajput were tied with 36 nett points each, but the polish pair took the third spot thanks to better race finishes.

Qatar’s Waleed al-Sharshani and Jassim al-Sulaiti, who were fourth going into the third day, had to settle for fifth spot. They finished second in the opening race, but faltered in the next finishing ninth, which ruled out a podium finish.

 

Final standings

Men

1. Germany (Wagner Jan-Jaspe, Baldwein Dustin) 9; 2. Ukraine (Broys Shvets, Pavlo Matsyev) 18; 3. Poland (Marcin Czajkowski, Piotr Przybylski) 36; 4. India (Pushparajan Muttu, Narendra Singh Rajput) 36; 5. Qatar (Waleed al-Sharshani, Jassim al-Sulaiti) 37; 6. Finland (Sami Tamminen, Henri Koski) 54; 7. Norway (Pal Bratibak, Anders Johansen) 57; 8. USA (Samuel Ingham, Sean Kelly) 62; 9. Indonesia (Yanuar Luckyto, Lika Mandalasari) 75; 10. Turkey (Ezden Koral, Sedar Kizilkaya) 77; 11. Pakistan (Najeebullah Khan, Qasim Abbas) 81; 12. Sri Lanka (Rashil Nisantha Weerathunga, Nawalamahagamaralalage Guanawardana) 90; 13. Denmark (Soren Christensen, Thomas Jenson) 106; 14 Canada (Patrick Mardon, Trevor Young) 119; 15. Tunisia (Rafik Oulhezi, Saleem Mzoughi) 126

 

Women

1. France (Camille Lecointre, Sophie De Turckheim) 13; 2. Russia (Alisa Kiriluyk, Liudmila Dmitrieva) 14; 3. Poland (Katarzyna Tylinska, Aleksandra Tulodziecka) 29; 4. Ukraine: (Anna Kyselova, Anastasiya Krasko) 31; 5. Germany (Victoria Jurczok, Anika Lorenz) 35; 6. USA (Trisha Kutkiewicz, Keisha Pearson) 52; 7. Indonesia (Deny Dispitasasi, Siti Mudawwamah) 68

 

 

 

Related Story