Total. Dominance. Team China have completely outshone all other competitors here at the RS:X World Championships taking five out of six podium positions available.

In the Women’s medal race China did just enough to secure Gold, Silver and Bronze.

Gold – CHN 81 – Piena Chen

Silver – CHN 5 – Jiahui Wu

Bronze – CHN 7 – Yunxiu Lu

 

In the Men’s medal race, the Gold medal shoot out was eventually won by Bing Ye (China) who narrowly beat Mateo Sanz Lanz (Switzerland) with the gold medal going back and forth several times in the race.

Gold – CHN 12 – Bing Ye

Silver – SUI 36 – Mateo Sanz Lanz

Bronze – CHN 10 – Mengfan Gao

More to follow…

Start well, pick the shifts up the first beat, work hard and extend. A simplistic view of sailboard racing but the reality is that if you do the basics right then you are in with a shot of doing well and potentially winning. Jim Rohn, an American entrepreneur said, “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals”. Nothing was more true than this on Day 5 of the RS:X World Championships being held in Enoshima, Japan.

The day started with a promising northerly wind and the Men and Women Gold Fleets were sent out on time for the first time in the Championships. A start was tantalizingly close but the breeze was toying with the Race Committee who were forced to send the competitors back to shore for a few hours to wait for a more established wind to develop.

When the Gold fleet sailors were eventually sent back out to Sagami Bay late in the afternoon, tensions were high in the fleet. Would the wind hold to allow those on the fringes of the top ten to sneak into tomorrows medal race? Would todays racing bring better fortunes to those who were unlucky in yesterdays racing? As it turned out, the wind held – barely – for two races for the men and just a single race for the women.

For the women, Chinese sailors had dominated the event and the scorecard after today shows nothing but the same. Between the six Chinese sailors entered into the event, gold is guaranteed to one of the top four sailors, and all but one are in the medal race tomorrow. Total dominance in what is a world class fleet. In the end it was Piena Chen, the 2015 World Champion and Olympic Silver medallist who outshone her rivals to take an almost unassailable lead into tomorrows race. Chen took advantage of overnight leader Jiahui Wu’s misfortune, Wu was caught over the start line in the only race today, and stole the overall lead by winning today. Chen has been the most consistent sailor and has won five out of the 9 races sailed and holds a 17.3 point lead over compatriot Hongmei Shi, Chens closest rival for gold. Yunxui Lu (China) in third also has a chance of taking gold but this would need an extremely fortunate set of events to occur and would need to see Chen come last.

There are a number of sailors who could stop a Chinese clean sweep of the podium, which include Polands Zofia Klepacka and Hollands Lillian de Geus, sitting in fifth and sixth overall respectively. Spains Blanca Manchon in seventh is also an outside chance for a medal if she sails at her best.

Stefania Elfutina (Russia) is the last board to get into the top ten and has missed the medals for the overall title but has won the U21 division as the top board with a day to spare. Elfutina narrowly beat Chinas Xianting Huang to the medal race and therefore cannot lose her U21 crown tomorrow.

This week of racing, whilst overshadowed by the brilliant performance of the Chinese, has been tough for others. Katy Spychakov (Israel) is part of a young group of sailors from Israel who are aiming towards Tokyo in 2020. Spychakov commented on the weeks racing, “It has been a difficult week for me. We normally train in Eilat where the wind is stronger and I prefer those conditions. We spent three weeks in Enoshima during the summer and we had light winds then so I have been working hard in this area. I was expecting these conditions but its still hard sailing”.

In the men’s fleet, the fight for gold is a two way shootout between Chinas Bing Ye and Switzerland’s Mateo Sanz Lanz who are tied equal on 33 points. Sanz Lanz came out on top today with a 4,2 scoreline whilst Ye battled back from an uncharacteristic 12 in the first race with a win in the second. The battle for bronze will be a chasing group including Mengfan Gao (China), Shahar Zubari (Israel) and Kieran Martin Holmes (Great Britain) who are the most realistic challenges for the bronze medal and a spot on the podium.

The battle between Ye an Sanz Lanz will be extremely interesting to watch for both windsurfing purists as well as those new to the discipline. Mathematically, it will be whoever crosses the finish line first tomorrow who walks away with the title. Both sailors will be allowed to employ the racing rules to their full advantage to gain a penalty over the other and a lead on the course. Equally if the wind doesn’t allow for the medal race to be sailed, the maths is such that Ye will take the title by way of having the better discard. Both sailors will be hoping to settle this on the water and that the wind allows this to happen

Further back it was again consistency that was the key and those who managed to keep a cool head did the best out of todays two races. This included Great Britain’s Holmes who sits fifth overall and has a realistic chance of a medal. Holmes on this week, “I had a shocking couple of races on the first day which was a shame as I could be in a much stronger position otherwise. Today was quite hard with the wind shifting all over the place. I found that doing the basic things right helped – get off the line cleanly and sail fast and it worked well for me today. I am really excited about the medal race tomorrow and with being in with a chance – I’ll just have to sail my best”. Holmes scored a 7, 3 today and was the second best performer of the day.

Just about muscling his way into the top ten is Dutchman and reigning double Olympic champion Van Rijsselberghe who sits in 9^th overall but with no realistic chances of a medal. Frances Louis Giard, who had sailed so consistently in the qualifying series, is in 7^th overall and will be ruing a poor final series of results which has blown such a promising opening two days to the event.

In the Under 21 division, Spains Angel Granda Roque followed up his race win from yesterday with a second place in the first of todays race. These two excellent results have all guaranteed him of the U21 title. The battle for silver and bronze is much tighter and will be between Mestre Adrien (France), Carlo Ciabatti (Italy) and Ofek Elimeleh (Israel).

The format for tomorrows racing is that a single race will be held for the top ten in each fleet, with points being counted for double. The races are scheduled to be 20 minutes long so a sprint around the course. With double points on the table and competitors looking to take advantage of any mistake, the races tomorrow will be tense thrillers and an apt conclusion to an excellent weeks racing.

Text: Bas Edmonds / RS:X Class
Photo: Robert Hajduk / Shuttersail.com
Video : ICARUS Sports

Event website: http://www.rsxclass.org/worlds2017/

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Day 4 of the RS:X World Championships being held in Enoshima, Japan saw tight racing in difficult and frustrating conditions. With the majority of sailors in the Gold Fleet picking up their worst result today, it was a case of damage limitation to the scorecard and ensuring that any hopes or dreams of winning this event were kept alive.

In a strong case of kleptomania, the Chinese women’s RS:X team seem to be stealing every race win available and are proving the toughest competitors, especially in light, hot pumping conditions. With three different sailors taking a race win today, and four sailors in the top five, this formidable force of sailors are beginning to dominate and crush the rest of the fleet.

In race 1, it was Japanese sailor Megumi Komine, capitalising on a good start and a well picked wind shift on the first upwind on the left hand side of the course, who led around the majority of the course to be finally picked off by Manjia Zheng (China). Further back in the pack, others were struggling such as Stefania Elfutina (Russia) who picked up an uncharacteristic 29^th place which promptly became her discard.

In race 2, it was the turn of China’s Jiahui Wu who led from the start, got the same shift on the left hand side, and never looked back as she won in relative comfort in such a tight fleet. In race 3, another Chinese sailor in Yunxiu Lu, who again led around the course but was chased hard by another compatriot in Xianting Huang.

On todays final race win, Yunxiu Lu commented, “I lost concentration in the first two races and I scored a 17^th and 24^th so it wasn’t very good for me. In the third race I knew I had to do something different and tried some different tactics which was good as I won the race”. Lu sits in fifth place overall and is the fourth Chinese woman.

Another happy sailor was Blanca Manchon from Spain. “Today was a really crazy day. It was really tough and the downwinds were so tight as the whole fleet arrived at the downwind gate at the same time. There were lots of opportunities to overtake but also to go backwards so I am happy with my results. I gave birth nine months ago so this is even better result for me. I will take it year by year but I am still aiming for Tokyo”. Manchon is in sixth and will need another solid day tomorrow to keep alive any hopes of a medal.

Overall, Jiahui Wu (China) leads from Piena Chen (China) with Klepacka in third. The points between the top two Chinese sailors is down to just 0,7 with Kelpacka five points adrift - this is sure to go down to the wire for the medals.

In the U21 fleet, Elfutina continues to lead the fleet but due to a difficult day, her lead over China’s Huang has been reduced to just 8 points as Elfutina slips down the overall leader board to 8^th.

In the Silver Fleet, race wins were taken by Fujikp Onishi (Japan), Maria Belen Bazo German (Peru) and Sa Bin Chun (Korea) with Sin Lam Sonia Lo (Hong Kong) leading overall.

It was a similar story in the men’s Gold fleet with China taking the top two spots overall and have three sailors in the top five, with the men being slightly more consistent in their scores but vast majority of the fleet still picked up a discard.

In race 1, Hong Kong sailor Michael Cheng picked some good shifts up the first beat and took the race win, followed closely Great Britains Kieran Holmes Martin and then China’s Tao Li in third place. In the second race it was the turn of the youngsters to take a go at the front of the fleet with Spain’s Angel Granda Roque recording what could be his best result at senior level to date with a race win at the ripe age of 20. Italys Matteo Evangelisti scored third and is also in the Under 21 fleet – a great effort from these sailors and ones to certainly keep an eye on if they are winning already at this level.

Race 3 and normal service resumed with Mengfan Gao of China taking the race win followed by Bing Ye (China) and Dorian Van Rijsselberghe (Netherlands) in third. Van Rijsselberghe has not had everything all his way this event and is in a group of tall sailors who have struggled when the breeze drops. Van Rijsselberghe explains, “Its been a difficult week, being a big sailor means I have to work really hard, which I can do, but I struggle against the lighter guys all the time”. On sailing in Enoshima, “Its just an amazing place to sail. Really clean and the people here are really friendly and totally helpful and try to sort all of your problems. I just love coming here”. Van Rijsselberghe is looking to secure a third consecutive Gold medal come 2020 and whilst this is not his best event to date, no-one would write him off a podium position come three years time.

Reigning World Champion, Polands Piotr Myszka is equally struggling with the conditions and commented on todays racing, “I seem to collect places around tenth position. I don’t know what to do, however hard I work or whichever way I go I cant go better than 10^th”. Myszka scored a 12, 11, 11 and sits in 13^th place overall.

Overall, Ye and Gao hold the top two positions with Swiss sailor Mateo Sanz Lanz in third and Li from China in fourth. The top four sailors in this fleet are separated by only nine points so tomorrows racing is vital for anyone seeking that final points advantage before going into the medal race on Saturday. In the men’s Under 21 fleet, Granda Roque has snatched the overall lead from Israel’s Ofek Elimeleh thanks to his race win today and leads by 13 points.

In the Silver Fleet race wins were taken by Igancio Berenguer (Mexico), Romain Ghio (France) and Oleksandr Tugaryev (Ukraine) with Ghio leading the fleet overall.

Racing continues on Friday with three races scheduled for all fleets. The top ten after tomorrow will progress through to a double points medal race where the medals will be finally decided.

Text: Bas Edmonds / RS:X Class
Photo: Robert Hajduk / Shuttersail.com

Event website: http://www.rsxclass.org/worlds2017/

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Today would be a day for simplicity and stability for all of the sailors aiming to keep their championship hopes alive. After the massive wind shifts and challenging rolling waves from Monday, day 2 of the RS:X Windsurfing World Championships in Enoshima, Japan was widely different to the first days racing – which all 168 competitors were extremely grateful for. This morning was a calm and peaceful scene of serenity as a flat calm Sagami Bay greeted the athletes to the venue of the next Olympic sailing competition.

In both the men’s and women’s fleet, the overnight scorecard showed that a limited number of competitors actually mastered the conditions and the variables from the opening day. It could be that some nerves were showing and reigning double Olympic champion, Dorian van Rijsselberghe was potentially guilty of this with a mixed scoreline. Today would be a chance for those competitors to show some stability in the results and climb back up the scorecard.

The women’s fleet were the first scheduled for racing but were held ashore for an hour as the light breeze began to tease the organisers and gently build. Once afloat, the conditions were perfect for racing and the race committee wasted no time in rattling off three excellent races in the stable but light wind. Again it was the Chinese that were the dominant force with three sailors in the top four overall at the end of the day. Peina Chen leads the fleet having scored a 1, 1, 11 and is looking very confident in all of the conditions thrown at the fleet after two days racing. Polish sailor Zofia Noceti Klepacka is chasing hard and will not look to give up the fight for the world title any time soon, Zofia had the best scoreline of the day with 2, 1, 3 to close the gap on Peina.

The RS:X windsurfing is the pinnacle of sailing fitness and the racing today was certainly testament to that as competitors were pushed to their endurance limits with racing taking place in around 27 degrees heat and in light winds known as pumping conditions. “Pumping” is where the competitors physically use their body weight to fan the sails to generate a fraction more wind and therefore propel themselves a little faster forward. This effort is exhausting and can feel like running 10,000m three times a day with little break.

The women’s fleet is looking ultra-competitive at this stage in the Olympic cycle. Within the top five there is the silver and bronze medallists from Rio along with a smattering of new faces challenging to get into Saturdays top ten medal race. It will be interesting to see how the battles work out over the next two days of racing as it splits into Gold and Silver fleet racing and whether the relentless intensity of the competition will take its toll on any competitors.

One competitor who narrowly missed out on a medal in Rio is Lilian De Geus from the Netherlands who sits in 6^th place and is neatly poised in the chasing pack to capitalise on any mistakes made by the leaders. On todays racing Lilian commented, “Today was so much simpler. It was fun today and I managed to get some good results so very happy with how today went. Yesterday was really tough with the big shifts so happy the conditions were settled. The race committee did a great job in waiting perfectly for the wind and by the time we got out there it was perfect racing”.

In the Under 21 fleet, it would be wrong to say the title is pretty much sewn up, but with Russia’s Stefania Elfutina leading compatriot Mariam Sekhposyan by a whopping 20 points the title is looking firmly in her grasp. Elfutina, a bronze medallist from Rio, will be looking to at the overall title though and will be wanting to walk away at the end of the week as the youngest RS:X Windsurfing World Champion ever. Stefania on todays racing, “It was good. I had a good day yesterday so I was happy this morning and I enjoyed myself. I will see what happens this week but I am happy we have a rest day tomorrow”.

At 1400 local time, the men and women swapped over for battle duties and as a tired women’s fleet hit the beach a revved up men’s fleet were heading out to the race area. Again in pumping conditions, time ran out on the race committee and with sunset approaching, the men were sent back ashore having only completed two races.

As in the women’s fleet, consistency would be the key to avoiding picking up big scores. The leader from yesterday, Frenchman Louis Giard did exactly that with a 5, 2 scoreline and continues to lead the fleet overall. Talking about the racing, “It was good today, still shifty but I seemed to go the right way and get two good results. I am just happy that I go into the Gold fleet racing with all good discards when they come in which is a strong position for me”.

Whilst Giard leads the overall fleet, the racing today showed off all of the benefits of keeping tactics simple and relying on the basics. Chinas Bing Ye had the best day with a 1, 1 in his flight which Mateo Sanz Lanz from Switzerland also scored well with a 2, 1 in the other flight to land himself into 2^nd overall. In fact when looking at the top ten after the first two days racing, the fleet is incredibly compact and, like the women, will provide some excellent battles over the next two days before heading into the medal race. Local favourite Makoto Tomizawa is in fourth overall, just behind Polands Pawel Tarnowski.

Speaking to Israels Shahar Zubari after racing, “I had a bad start in the first race and got a 2^nd place, then I had a good start in the second race and got an 8^th place so it was that kind of a crazy day. At 31 years old I have more experience over some of the younger guys where they may have more physicality over me so for now it seems as though experience pays”. When asked what made him keep competing as he enters his fourth Olympic campaign, Shahar commented, “It’s the windsurfing lifestyle. I get to go on the water and spend every day with nature. The ocean is our office so its amazing to be able to call this a job”. Zubari is 6th overall going into the rest day.

In the Under 21 fleet for the men, its also extremely close with Angel Grande Roque (Spain) leading by one point from Israels Ofek Elimeleh. They sit 11^th and 12^th overall respectively and have a real chance of getting into the medal race. More interestingly is that both Roque and Elimeleh are ahead of van Rijsselberghe who has not had an easy start to the week and sits in 16^th overall.

Wednesday is a well-deserved rest day for both the men’s and women’s fleet as well as the organisers and volunteers who get to both mentally and physically re-group to put on the best show for the remainder of the event. Two days racing, a total of 18 separate races completed and there is nothing to separate out who could or will win the world titles. Racing resumes on Thursday with the fleets being separated into Gold and Silver flights before the top ten race it out for the medals and title.

Watch the Day 1 Video - Click here

Text: Bas Edmonds / RS:X Class
Photo: Robert Hajduk / Shuttersail.com
Video: ICARUS Sport

Event website: http://www.rsxclass.org/worlds2017/

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Typhoon No.18 was scheduled to dominate the headlines on the first day of racing at the 2017 RS:X Windsurfing World Championships, being held on the site of the 2020 Olympic regatta in Enoshima, Japan. At the end of the day, whilst the remnants of the typhoon which passed through overnight did play a role, it was the almost impossible sailing conditions for both the sailors and race committee which would dominate the talk ashore.

As the 168 competitors from 37 different nations turned up at the Enoshima Sailing centre early in the morning, the overnight rain had disappeared leaving a blustery 25 knots of wind and huge breaking waves in the harbour entrance that showed the legacy of the typhoon at its most powerful. Discretion on behalf of the race committee led to an hours postponement in the hope that the conditions would abate to allow the men’s fleet to safely negotiate their way to the race course area.

And the conditions did eventually abate, almost too far though as when the men’s fleets left the comfort of the harbour, the wind had dropped to just 10 knots – far from the planning conditions that was forecast. So those that had hoped for a wild and windy start to the event would be left disappointed. Instead it was the waves that would have the biggest influence on the racing – waves that would frighten the biggest of sumo wrestlers as they rolled constantly through the course area.

Louis Giard (France) mastered the conditions and won both of his races to lead the men’s fleet with a 5 points lead over local rider Makoto Tomizawa who scored a 3^rd and 4^th - a very good start for the Japanese sailor. After the first day, to have a nice points buffer is comforting but does not allow for anyone to sit back. Giard commented on the days racing, “It was difficult, the first race was a bit of mess with big wind shifts and some marks moving but I think I did ok to finish without losing places”. Giard did more than ok as he won, but it took the race committee and jury some time into the night to unpick the mess and ensure that the results reflected the fairness of the race.

One of the veterans of the fleet, Byron Kokkalanis (GRE) commented, “It was a really shifty day, some big shifts coming through which made it really tough racing. I had two good races so I am really happy with that”. Byron finished the day with a 6, 3 score line to sit in 3^rd overall at the end of the day.

Antonio Cozzolino (NZL), who at the beginning of this year quit his job to take back up his Olympic campaign noted, “I would like to reflect on how I did today but I really have no idea what happened. The swell was huge so it made reading the wind virtually impossible which meant you could miss some of the massive shifts and drop like a stone through the pack”. Cozzolino finished the day with a 35^th and a 23^rd and was happy with the progress made.

As the men were just finishing their second race it was the turn of the women to head out at 1500hrs local time. With the heat of the day dropping slightly, the wind had decided to do the same creating an even trickier course for the women with some holes in the wind and the big shifts remaining. Consistency would prove to be key for the women’s fleet and that is exactly Olympic silver medallist from Rio, Peina Chen (China) went out and achieved with two first places in the racing today. In fact, it was China that would dominate the results for the women’s fleet being in 1^st and 3^rd overall, split by Zofia Klepacka (Poland) who also had a consistent day with two second places and sits in second overall.

Whilst established performers were rising to the top, they were being chased by the upcoming riders who are aiming for Tokyo in three years time. Maria Mollestad (Norway) had a fantastic day scoring a 6^th and 15^th, beating some top talent to sit in 13^th overall. There will likely be similar upsets throughout the week as developing talent in the fleet look to break into the top twelve for a chance at the medals.

With the wind dying further, and the sun starting to set on the bay, the race committee decided to send the women’s fleet back to shore and home – a very long day of waiting and racing.

With two good qualifying races under their belts, the sailors will be pleased that the typhoon turned out to be nothing more than a storm in a teacup.

Racing for the qualifying series continues with up to three scheduled races on Tuesday before the fleets are split into Gold and Silver. The weather conditions currently look light and marginal but sailable. Fingers crossed.

To follow the 2017 RS:X World Championships please use www.rsxclass.org/2017worlds/

Text: Bas Edmonds / RS:X Class
Photo: Robert Hajduk / Shuttersail.com
Video: Icarus Sport

Event website: http://www.rsxclass.org/worlds2017/

Pictures: http://www.rsxclass.org/media/pictures/?album=5887
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With the Road to Rio over, sailors at the beginning of this Olympic cycle are wondering out the best method of getting to Tokyo – be it train, tram or tricycle…! One thing for sure is that a solid performance at the 2017 RS:X Windsurfing World Championships starting next week in Enoshima, Japan, is going to be vital to starting that journey at full speed!

With 111 men and 67 women from over 30 different nations, most who have already descended on the 2020 venue for the sailing competition, this championship is going to set the tone for those looking to set some markers down to the rest of the fleet on the four year journey to Tokyo. The weather has so far provided some spectacular conditions for warm up training before racing commences next Monday, but with Typhoon No.18 getting close to Enoshima over the weekend, competitors could experience more of a local welcome than sushi for dinner, with winds of over 180km per hour potentially forecast.

Within the mens fleet, the obvious contender for glory next week is Dutchman Dorian van Rijsselberghe who comes into the event as reigning Olympic champion having successfully his 2012 title in Rio last year. Van Rijsselberghe will be chased hard by fellow compatriot Kiran Badloe who has been getting better and better over the past few years. This could be the year that the student beats the master?

France have entered the largest team with eleven riders entered. Pierre Le Coq and Louis Giard have both medalled at major championships and will be battling both each other and the rest of the fleet for a position to come home with a medal.

Great Britain have the second largest team, it is missing notable absentee Nick Dempsey who pushed Van Rijssleberghe hard in each of his medals. Coming out of his shadow is a strong team of sailors including Tom Squires and Kieran Martin, who will be hoping for a range of conditions to put in some solid results.

The Israelis and Polish also have entered some strong teams which shows their intent to come away with a medal from next weeks sailing as well as looking to bring on some new talent in the class.

An upside of coming to Asia for a major event is the opportunity this presents to countries with growing RS:X and windsurfing fleets within the region. Over 20 sailors from 6 counties have come to the worlds with the aim of gaining some vital skills before heading to next years World Championship where the first opportunity to qualify for Tokyo will be up for grabs. The RS:X Class are looking forward to growing windsurfing within the region and creating ties with more countries as part of this event.

In the womens fleet, the full podium from Rio is incomplete as Charline Picon from France settles into motherhood – Chinas Peina Chen and Russias Stefania Elfultina are here and ready to win. Some of the previous old guard of the class have moved on or taken a sabbatical which will open up some spaces for new sailors to get into the medal races come next Saturday. Team Madam from Israel, a very young and upcoming group of sailors have individually performed at a number of levels and will be keen to show that they are ready to represent Israel at this event, a traditionally strong windsurfing country.

Despite new faces, old rivalries still exist and it will be fascinating to see how the Spanish duo of Blanca Manchon and Marina Alabau resume their appetite for another gruelling four years of Olympic windsurfing – just one of the battles for the selection that will rage over the next three years.

In some cases; such as with Estonia, Finland and Norway, less of a battle exists at this moment in time, but with strong sailors coming through at Techno and RS:X Youth level, the pathway of sailors coming through to challenge is growing and the number of competitive sailors is only getting greater.

With equipment inspection taking part over Saturday and Sunday, racing starts in earnest (weather permitting) on Monday and will conclude with two World Champions being decided next Saturday. Stay tuned on which path and which turns will be taken as the RS:X fleet look to find their way, however hard or easy, to Tokyo in 2020..!

Text: Bas Edmonds / RS:X Class
Photos: Robert Hajduk / Shuttersail.com

Event website: http://www.rsxclass.org/worlds2017/

Pictures: http://www.rsxclass.org/media/pictures/?album=5887
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