Hansa World and International Championships in Hiroshima, Japan - Overall
by Tomoko Nishi 19 Oct 2018 09:22 BST
14-18 October 2018
191 sailors from 24 countries and nations participated in the 2018 Hansa Class World & International Championships, which closed today. The Worlds were held for the first time in Japan, and more then 1,000 spectators visited Kannon Marina during the event to watch the colourful Hansa races.
Three Japanese teams got to the podium. Yuna Nakayama and Sarina Shibata won the gold medal in the Hansa 303 Doubles, Takumi Niwa was third in the 303 Single class, and Takaya Aono took third in the Liberty Servo. It is the first time that Japanese sailors won the Hansa World title.
Bob Sohahinger from Australia, president of the International Hansa Class Association, won the Liberty class and said, "I am not disabled, but the spirit of the Hansa class is Sailing for Everyone! Even if people are handicapped or not, it is fun to sail together and even I lost sometimes. Vera (Voorbach from Netherlands) who raced on a servo boat took the third place in the Liberty class; she pushed me very hard, and that's why I could win. I will continue to push myself and all Hansa sailors from now on. I am looking forward to seeing you all in two years."
The next Hansa Class World & International Championship will be held in Newport, California, USA in October 2020.
Podium photos are available in the gallery above [use NEXT button under photo], and results for each class are at 2018hansaworlds.com