Overall run of 470 Women class: 2011 Perth ISAF Sailing World Championship
The crowd gathered at the harbour to watch the final showdown of 470 Women Medal Race on Centre Course witnessed some of the most thrilling moments as the top 470 Women teams were sailing to formulate the final results and medal positions. As expected, the
Perth-style strong gusty breeze was blowing from 17 to 18 knots over the racing area, making the race more exciting.
The medal race finished with Spain, emerging as the winner and gold medallist of 470 Women class. The Spanish team, comprising of Tara Pacheco and Berta Betanzos, topped the final standings of 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championship with 63 points, while Hannah
Mills and Saskia Clark of Great Britain finished second to claim silver medal. New Zealand’s Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie grabbed 73 points to win bronze medal.
The Kiwi team, Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie, along with Brazil’s Martine Grael and Isabel Swan had to go back and cross the finish line again because of the recall. During the line re-crossing, both teams lost some precious time but they completed their manoeuvres
successfully.
The New Zealand team had tough luck on the final day but in order to get a chance of claiming a medal, they pulled up their socks and sailed brilliantly to win a third place in the medal race. With the addition of six points in the total scores, Aleh and
Powrie were able to secure bronze medal by 73 points.
Had they put little more effort during the last races, they would have replaced the second placed, Mills and Clark from Great Britain and won the silver medal like they did at the 2010 470 World Championships. However, despite the lower finish, both Aleh
and Powrie are satisfied with their overall performance and hope that they will do better at the 2012 London Olympics.
The British 470 team, Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark, were too close to snatch the gold medal from the Spanish team but unluckily they could not make it, even after they won the medal race. The only way they could have won the gold medal was if they finished
first and the Spanish finished last in the final race. They are now on second podium with just a five-point difference from the Spaniards at 68 points.
Regardless of a lower score in the medal race, the Spanish team hit the top spot with 63 points and claimed the gold medal. Spain’s Tara Pacheco and Berta Betanzos have finished the year in a remarkable way, securing two international 470 Women titles, the
2011 470 World Championship and 2011 470 European Championship.
Both, Pacheco and Betanzos have been racing together for the past four years and have secured several achievements so far. In the recently finished world championship, they led the fleet from the beginning with convincing score lines. Their only lower score
was 27th in the seventh race of the class.
Top 10 standings of 470 Women class of 2011 Perth ISAF Sailing World Championship:
1. Tara PACHECO, Berta BETANZOS ESP 8, 7, 1, 1, 3, 4, (27), 7, 2, 16, 14 = 63 points
2. Hannah MILLS, Saskia CLARK GBR 10, 6, 9, 6, (13), 3, 12, 8, 11, 1, 2 = 68 points
3. Jo ALEH, Olivia POWRIE NZL 7, 4, 14, (25), 7, 1, 3, 17, 1, 13, 6 = 73 points
4. Gil COHEN, Vered BUSKILA ISR (24), 5, 17, 2, 1, 8, 10, 4, 9, 4, 16 = 76 points
5. Giulia CONTI, Giovanna MICOL ITA 11, 8, 2, 7, 23, (35), 6, 1, 4, 8, 18 = 88 points
6. Ai KONDO, Wakako TABATA JPN 3, 1, 13, 4, 2, (28), 5, 16, 15, 10, 20 = 89 points
7. Penny CLARK, Katrina HUGHES GBR 1, 10, 3, 9, 25, 10, 7, (30), 17, 2, 10 = 94 points
8. Martine SOFFIATTI GRAEL, Isabel MARQUES SWAN BRA 5, 11, 16, (20), 16, 20, 1, 2, 12, 3, 12 = 98 points
9. Elise RECHICHI, Belinda STOWELL AUS 23, (38), 12, 14, 8, 9, 15, 10, 3, 5, 4 = 103 points
10. Lisa WESTERHOF, Lobke BERKHOUT NED 4, 2, 11, 3, 9, 31, 28, (49) DSQ, 6, 6, 8 = 108 points
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