Los Angeles crowns Blanca Ferrando ILCA 4 World Champion
by Pep Portas 27 Jul 12:23 BST
The Real Club Náutico de Valencia sailor wins the world championship title after 12 races, 6 in the qualifying round and 6 in the final series. The Valencian wins the title together with the Club's coach: Borja Mas. Marta Ferrando, for her part, achieved sixth place in SUB16.
Blanca Ferrando goes on and on. The Valencian sailor, from the Real Club Náutico de Valencia, has achieved this Saturday a new sporting success for Valencian and Spanish sailing by being proclaimed ILCA 4 World Champion in Los Angeles (USA). The Valencian, being the youngest sailor in the absolute category, has shown a very high level during this week of competition at the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, venue of the world championship, in which she took command of the fleet on the first day of the qualifying round and has not dropped from that position, demonstrating a maturity and solvency on the water within reach of very few athletes of her age.
The sailor from the RCN of Valencia, which is part of the FER Project, has achieved this world title by showing a solid and regular sailing. Her uncontested victory was achieved in all wind conditions, confirming the title with only one race to go, in which a top 10 finish would guarantee her the world title, whatever happens in the last race.
The Valencian closed the qualifying round with a score of 6-2-1-1-11-7. In the Gold group, Blanca has been very solid and firm, arriving on Saturday with everything in her favour. With two rounds scheduled on this last day, she started her way to the title with a brilliant 5th place. She was already champion, but she wanted more. When she was in third place in the sixth race of the final round, an incident caused her to break her rudder and she had to retire. This DNF in her locker does not overshadow at all the brilliant work and the results she has obtained in the United States.
A job that has not come alone as Blanca Ferrando has been accompanied by the coach of the RCN of Valencia: Borja Más. But this magnificent work of Blanca and Borja has had the finishing touch of another great promise and that aims high: Marta Ferrando. The Valencian finished 6th in SUB16, 35th of the absolute generation. These good results are the result of the work that the Real Club Náutico de Valencia carries out day by day.
Blanca was flanked on the podium by Peruvian Isabella Suazo, second with 66 points, 10 more than the Valencian, while the bronze went to Turkey's Derin Bartan, with a total of 79 points. The Greek Konstantinos Portosalte was the champion in the men's category, accompanied on the podium by the Brazilian Erik Scheidt and the Turkish Sadrihan Suer, silver and bronze respectively. In this category, the podium of the Balearic Nikko Palo, second in SUB16 and sixth in the overall absolute, stands out.
This new world championship in ILCA 4 is added to the third place in the European Championship in Poland just 20 days ago. This is the second world championship that the Valencian sailor has achieved, as in 2023, in Spain, she won the Optimist world championship title, which makes her one of the few sailors in the world who have managed to be champion in two different classes at such a young age.
Spain has shone in this World Championship in the United States. The Balearic Llucia Salas finished 14th, while Tenerife's Sofia Hernandez finished in 20th place and the Balearic Monica Osha in 22nd, Francisca Puig in 31st, Marta Ferrando in 35th and June Olazabal in 50th.