28th Delta Lloyd Regatta at Medemblik, Holland - Day 4
by Delta Lloyd Regatta press 25 May 2012 22:04 BST
22-26 May 2012
Olympic ticket for Israeli windsurfer Shahar Zubari
The fourth day of the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, with great sailing conditions, put the biggest smile on Israeli sailor Shahar Zubari’s face. The windsurfer has secured the victory in the World Cup contest in the RS:X Class even before the medal race on Saturday and has also earned himself an Olympic ticket in his home country.
“I am very happy. The battle in my country was divided over 4 contests, of which the Delta Lloyd Regatta was the final one. The weather was not in my favour for the first three, but here the conditions were perfect for me,” said Zubari after another two victories on Friday. In the battle for a ticket to participate in London 2012, he trumped his compatriot Nimrod Mashiah. “The light breeze was an advantage to me here,” said Zubari. “Israel has a great sailing tradition at the Olympic games. For me, the Olympics will be my last big event for a while. After London 2012, I will be working on a social career. For now at least.”
For the women, the RS:X Class remains extremely exciting. The Norwegian Jannicke Stalstrom and Hayley Chan from Hong Kong are tied for points (25), the Italian number 3 Flavia Tartaglini is also still in with a chance of winning after scoring 31 points in the medal race. In the Laser Radial, Krystal Weir from Australia is drawing in the World Cup. After 8 races, she is in first place with 14 points. Nearest competitor Tina Mihelic from Kroatië is already 10 points behind.
In the Laser Class, Rutger van Schaardenburg stayed in the lead, despite an early start in the 10th race. With his qualification for the medal race on Saturday, he secured a place in the Dutch Olympic sailing team. The Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Bernaz pulled into second place. “This is going to be close,” said Van Schaardenburg.
In the Finn Class, the American Caleb Paine was satisfied with his first place after 8 races. He took the lead from the Dutch Pieter-Jan Postma. Postma also started strongly on the second day, but fell to fifth place due to disqualifications. “That’s sailing for you,” said Paine, looking back at the developments. The team of the New Zealander Paul Snow-Hansen is leading the 470 Class, just a little ahead of the Irish Owens Ger.
In the Paralympic Class 2.4mR, the competition between the Dutchman Thierry Schmitter and the British Megan Pascoe is very exciting. They will be starting the final race on Saturday with an equal number of points. In the Paralympic Sonar Class, the team of Frenchman Bruno Jourdren is in the lead.
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