2024 29er World Championships at Sailing Aarhus Day 5
by International 29er Class 8 Aug 21:37 BST
1-9 August 2024
A challenging day for all the competitors as offshore winds created shifty and gusty conditions on day two of finals racing and the penultimate racing day before the podium positions will be decided tomorrow, 9th August.
All fleets sailed three races and the sailors had to remain sharp to deal with the ever changing race course. Spirits throughout the fleet remain high with a windy forecast for the final day in the series to close out this record breaking World Championships.
Alex Demurtas and Giovanni Santi (ITA) sailed with style to extend their overall and Men's category lead ahead of their closest rivals 2024 European Champions Ewa Lewandowska and Krzysztof Królik (Poland) who lead the mixed category by a huge margin of 130 points. Jocelyn Le Goff and Jules Vidor from France remain third overall and second Men's team chased by fellow countrymen Nolann Huet Des Aunay and Titouan Gresset.
In the Women's fleet one day was enough to turn the results on their head, proving that there is no space for errors in this tightly contested fleet. Sisters Boróka and Szonja Fehér from Hungary sailed a solid day to jump up the leader board into first women and sixth overall, ahead of women's European Champions Alicja Tutkowska and Alicja Dampc who are now second women going into the final day and will once again have their eyes on the top spot on the podium tomorrow.
Third place women are Danish team Josefine Nøjgaard and Esther Houborg and there is no doubt that tomorrow they will be looking for their local Danish luck to strike!
Truman Rogers and Paula Lepa who are representing Germany (Truman lives in the USA) are enjoying their new partnership and will be looking to stay ahead of fellow Germans Nick Plinke and Nele Petersen for that Silver medal in the final standings.
As we head into the last day of racing here in Aarhus, the International 29er Class are reflecting on what has been a unique and standout World Championships. The largest ever held since the Class was established in 2000, the event here in Denmark has been a true celebration of International 29er sailing with sailors from 13 years of age up to 51 years old enjoying world class racing and positive energy both on and off the water.
Tomorrow the prizes will be given, the sailors in Silver, Bronze, Emerald, Purple and White fleet will be at the top of their game to claim the top spots, with lots to reflect on for the fast approaching 2024/2025 season.