Lysekil, Sweden, August 1, 2009.
Australian Nicole Souter Takes Gold in Women’s Match Racing 2009
- Sensational racing with two podium finishes for Sweden
The last day of the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship 2009 was full of surprises. The big sensation of the day was Australian Nicole Souter’s impressive dominance, beating the former World Champion Claire Leroy in the semi finals and taking three straight victories against Marie Björling of Sweden in the final. Swedish Anna Kjellberg beat Claire Leroy in the battle for third in two straight victories.The ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship 2009 was concluded in perfect conditions today in Lysekil, off the west coast of Sweden. With clear blue skies and a nice breeze of 15 knots of wind, the many spectators witnessed outstanding racing with tough tacking duels and excellent boat handling in the intense matches between the world’s best skippers.
The young Australian Nicole Souter surprised the crowd when starting the day by winning three out of four semi final races against the hard beat Claire Leroy of France, and then beating veteran Marie Björling of Sweden in three straight wins in the final. Souter, ranked eighth on the ISAF women’s match racing world ranking list, sailed perfectly all day, sticking every manoeuvre and taking all the right tactical decisions. The 25-year old Australian has already competed in three previous World Championships but never finished on the podium. She has never competed in Lysekil before and did definitely not belong to the favourites of the regatta.
- Our expectations were quite low coming here. We have very little experience in this boat and we would be more than happy making it to the top six. When we then made it to the semi finals, meeting Claire Leroy, all the odds were against us. We were not nervous and sailed without pressure, said an elated Nicole Souter, World Champion 2009. Souter’s main goal after the World Championship is training towards the Olympics 2012 in a serious campaign together with her fellow competitor Katie Spithill.
Wild card and underdog, Marie Björling of Sweden, has had a two-year break and no one really expected her to make such a stable performance. But Björling has a long experience of match racing, with four previous silver medals and topping the world ranking lists for a long time.
- We are of course disappointed after loosing the final but we are still very happy with our performance. We started sailing again in May after a two-year brake. With that short training time and the fact that the competition was tougher than ever this year we are even prouder, said Marie Björling, who will shoot up the world ranking list after her impressive achievement (now ranked 43!).
One of the day’s many surprises was not seeing the former World Champion and number one Claire Leroy on the podium. Leroy had the best result in the first round robin but finished fourth after Anna Kjellberg of Sweden beat her in two straight victories in the fight for third.
The 50 000 Euro prize purse will be distributed tonight at the prize giving ceremony and a new ISAF women’s match racing world ranking list will be released later on in August.
Final Result ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship 2009
(with ISAF women's match racing world ranking number in brackets)
1. Nicole Souter (8) AUS
2. Marie Björling (43) SWE
3. Anna Kjellberg (10) SWE
4. Claire Leroy (1) FRA
5. Katie Spithill (2) AUS
6. Camille Ulrikkeholm (13) DEN
7. Sally Barkow (7) USA
8. Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (5) DEN
9. Lucy Macgregor (3) GBR
10. Linda Rahm (4) SWE
11. Silke Hahlbrock (6) GER
12. Christelle Philippe (19) FRA
Nicole Souter (Aus) wins the World Championship!
10:45pm our time. WoohooNicky and the girls sailed a magnificent semis and finals only dropping one race in the semis. They are over the moon!
Nicole Souter, Australia, is Match Racing World Champion 2009
Silver: Marie Björling
Bronze: Anna Kjellberg
Latest news 1am 1st Aug 2009
As we hoped it would not be, the quarter finals were called off today due to the heavy winds. The whole harbour has been shut for over 24 hours now.This means the semis will be run tomorrow now, and Souter's crew will be part of the 4 to compete. Apparently, in the NoR, the 5th and 6th places must sail a race tomorrow to determine these places, so there is one more race in it for Spithill's team.
A hard way to bow out of a worlds!
Last email from Olivia:
Hi!!!
These two months have gone by soo quickly! I can't believe that I am leaving here in a day and a half! I have also been a bit slack with the emails coming in to mum who normally sends them off. And it has been a bit quiet up until now because we have been training and had a week of holiday time so there hasn't been much news to tell.
Swedish Match Cup was amazing! We got treated like royalty! I have so many photos to show of where we stayed in the most beautiful 'holiday' house you have ever seen, and the weather was fantastic! It was my favourite place of the entire trip, maybe Italy very close behind and Berlin close behind that too.
I went on 'holidays' to Berlin with 3 other girls and it was absolutely fascinating! I'm such a history nerd so I loved all the museums and seeing the wall and all the monuments etc. Also spent a few days in Copenhagen and saw all the palaces and everything interesting there too.
The weather is wild here in Lysekil, Sweden at the moment. We weren't allowed to sail today because it was blowing up to 50 knots, which is 25 metres per second! This was a bit of a shame for us as they eliminated the stage of the regatta where the top 6 would race off to determine a top 4 who would go throught to the semi finals. This means that because we finished 5th we aren't able to get into the semis and have to race tomorrow morning for 5th and 6th position. Was pretty upsetting and annoying, but was basically out of our control so there isn't much we do except sail our best tomorrow in the sail off.
Olivia
From the web-
Fridays sailing has been cancelled. Semifinals will start 9 am tomorrow.
Lysekil, Sweden, July 31
Racing Cancelled Today Due to Strong Wind
- Quarter finals cancelled, tomorrow the semi finals start directly
In Lysekil the winds reached storm forces today, blowing more than 50 knots in the worst gusts. In the extreme conditions no racing was possible. As tomorrow Saturday is the last race day, the race committee decided to cancel the quarterfinals and start directly with the semi finals tomorrow morning, with the four best placed teams of the first round robin.Reigning World Champion Claire Leroy of France topped the first round robin and will therefore meet fourth placed Australian Nicole Souter in the semi finals. Second and third placed Marie Björling and Anna Kjellberg, both local favourites, will have an internal Swedish battle for the second finalist place.
Local Swedes can already now look forward to seeing a Swedish contestant in the final of the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship 2009!
The semi finals will start tomorrow Saturday 1 August at 9 am local time followed by the final. The race format is first score three points in both the semi finals and the final.
The wind forecast for tomorrow is 12 – 18 knots.
No sailing today. Result day 3 Thursday 30 July: ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship (with ISAF women's match racing world ranking number):
First Round Robin completed. Top four to semi finals
| 1. Claire Leroy (1) FRA | 10-1 | meets Nicole Souter in semi finals |
| 2. Marie Björling (43) SWE | 9-2 | meets Anna Kjellberg in semi finals |
| 3. Anna Kjellberg (10) SWE | 8-3 | |
| 4. Nicole Souter (8) AUS | 6-5 | |
| 5. Katie Spithill (2) AUS | 6-5 | |
| 6. Camille Ulrikkeholm (13) DEN | 6-5 | |
| 7. Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (5) DEN | 5-6 | |
| 8. Sally Barkow (7) USA | 5-6 | |
| 9. Lucy Macgregor (3) GBR | 5-6 | |
| 10. Linda Rahm (4) SWE | 4-7 | |
| 11. Silke Hahlbrock (6) GER | 2-9 | |
| 12. Christelle Philippe (19) FRA | 0-11 |
News 8pm 31st July 2009
Well, it's been 40kts now up to 50kts and they are all racked up awaiting it to abate a little. They are at lunch now and will stay around until the time runs out to run the quarter finals by the end of the day. If that happens, only the top 4 will proceed to the semis, which leaves one of the Aussie crews out of te mix - Katie's team. It's a tough way of leaving the worlds if it comes down to it, but hey..... it's match racing.
I will post any news when it comes through, so stay tuned. The talk is that there are 200 of the sponsor's client there to watch today, so there is a bit of pressure on to get some racing in of course. They are talking about heading out with a baby jib and two reefs in the main. I'll be back with more soon.
Here is the latest from the sailworld web:
Australian Women’s Match Racers storm in quarter finals in Sweden
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| 'Katie Spithill (AUS) Team Wot Chicks - Lysekil Women’s Match' Dan Ljungsvik |
The Australian Sailing Development Squad’s two Women’s Match Racing crews have qualified for the quarterfinals of the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship on day three of racing in Lysekil, Sweden.
The crews, led by Katie Spithill and Nicky Souter, both head into Friday’s quarterfinals with a record of six wins and five losses with Souter qualifying in fourth and Spithill in fifth.
'It’s great to have both Australian teams through to the quarter finals,' said Spithill. 'The game starts all over again now with a clean slate and a new round robin'
'I am really pleased with the performance of my crew today, we made some silly errors on day two of racing, which we addressed as a team, and have now moved forward,' she said.
Thursday’s racing continued the trend of the regatta with close racing and tight finishes throughout the matches with the shifty and puffy wind seeing crews sailing at times with genoas and sometimes jibs.
Women’s Match Racing coach Dayne Sharp said the two Australian crews sailed well throughout the day to put themselves into a good position heading into the quarterfinals.
'Nicky's team continued their good run winning their last two races and securing fourth position,' he said. 'This young team has steadily improved over the regatta as their knowledge and confidence grows with each race, applying basic match race principles and keeping it simple has given wins over more experienced crews.'
'Katie's team won their first two matches in style today, leading off the start line, and winning by close but comfortable margins,' he said. 'In their last race against against world number one Claire Leroy, Katie received a penalty in a vigorous pre-start sequence. After an even start to both teams the French drew out to a 2-3 lead, holding it to the end.'
'The Australian teams' preparation for this event has them in excellent shape to take on the extra puff, they look forward to coming up against the best match racers in the world.'
Friday’s forecast is for 20-25 knot winds, demanding for all sailors, continuing the physically demanding week for the crews.
For more information go to www.australiansailingteam.com.au
by Craig Heydon 2:58 AM Fri 31 Jul 2009 GMT
News 1:30am 31st July 2009 -more from the website now too @6:30am
The quarters are now up, will most of the races being able to be completed before the big storm rolled in today halting proceedings.Nicky should be 4th and Katie in 5th spot going in to the quarter finals with Claire, Anna, Marie and Camilla. At present, there is a protest being heard between Lucy and Linda after the last race.
The windy conditions are expected to remain for the next couple of days with the present wind at around 40kts. The pro am set for this afternoon will not be on. Sailing may not be on tomorrow due to too much wind?!?
Olivia says the crews are happy with today.
The first match against Linda went well, tack for tack each time they met up the first work, but pulling lengths out of her most of the time downwind from there.
They scored a penalty over Lucy port and starboard in the prestart of match 2 and were in front off the line.
Match 3 against Claire was very windy. Claire scored a penalty on them for luffing in the prestart - "we thought it was too close but she started to windward and kept us out to layline then one tack downwind then upwind and same downwind" she said.
Today's tacks and boatwork were all good so it went well.
Lysekil, Sweden, July 29, 2009.
First Round Robin Completed in Tough Conditions
- Six teams to the quarterfinals
The 12 teams in the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship encountered physical sailing when the first Round Robin was completed today. The quarterfinals did not start today as the racing was interrupted at mid-day when a front came in, bringing gale winds to the race course. Cascades of rain were pouring down from the main sails during the last matches of the round robin this afternoon. Strong, very shifty, hard read wind, and at times heavy rain showers, made the racing difficult for both competitors and race committee. But the world’s best female match racers sailed superb races with a lot of action and top level boat handling.
French Claire Leroy and the two Swedish teams Marie Björling and Anna Kjellberg were ready for the quarterfinals already yesterday. The three remaining spots were determined in tough duels resulting in a very tight score.
Australian Katie Spithill sailed aggressively in the physical conditions and won two of her matches today, and therefore making it to the quarterfinals, which also was the case for her fellow country member Nicole Souter.
- It is a big benefit for us to have a sparring partner. We are more like a team of 12, having the same coach and pushing each other, said Katie Spithill currently ranked number two on the ISAF women’s match racing world ranking.
Camille Ulrikkeholm of Denmark scored the final spot to the quarterfinals, with the same points as the two Australian teams: six victories and five losses.
Reigning World Champion Claire Leroy of France topped the first round robin with 10 victories and only one match lost.
- Our objective in the first round robin was to finish top four, so this result is a big surprise and we are very happy. All six teams that have made it to the quarterfinals are sailing really well and every match will be tough racing, said Claire Leroy, who sailed with a brand new crewmember today as the team’s bowman injured her hand when helping trim the gennaker during a difficult tack yesterday afternoon. The new bowman, Camille Lecointre, who has never sailed with the team, was flown in from France late last night. The issue does not seem to have changed Leroy’s success, winning all her matches today.
For the quarterfinals the six competitors will sail another round robin (everyone meeting everyone). The four best teams continue to the semi finals. The points from the first round robin are not counted to the quarterfinals.
On Saturday the final will be held and the World Champion 2009 will be crowned.
Result day 3: ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship (with ISAF women's match racing world ranking number):
First Round Robin completed. Top six to quarterfinals.
| 1. Claire Leroy (1) FRA | 10-1 |
| 2. Marie Björling (43) SWE | 9-2 |
| 3. Anna Kjellberg (10) SWE | 8-3 |
| 4. Nicole Souter (8) AUS | 6-5 |
| 5. Katie Spithill (2) AUS | 6-5 |
| 6. Camille Ulrikkeholm (13) DEN | 6-5 |
| 7. Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (5) DEN | 5-6 |
| 8. Sally Barkow (7) USA | 5-6 |
| 9. Lucy Macgregor (3) GBR | 5-6 |
| 10. Linda Rahm (4) SWE | 4-7 |
| 11. Silke Hahlbrock (6) GER | 2-9 |
| 12. Christelle Philippe (19) FRA | 0-11 |
News 3:30am 30th July 2009
Olivia reports this morning that they had a rather hard day on the Spithill boat. The first match was a challenge when they started from behind, then with the pressure on did two awkward tacks which really set the mood - bad mood. The second match had it's trauma with one of the crew had a mishap when they were in front racing they fellow Aussies Nicky and crew. They lost this race subsequently which only added to the building tensionon their boat. And, we the third just didn't get any better when they were over at the start - day over!!!
The crew retired to the ice cream shop which apparently fixed up the mood somewhat.
They obviously need to focus on the job at hand and get into the quarter finals tomorrow, which they expect to do. The team spirit is fine and they are not on the water until 11am their time (7ish ours) so it leaves plenty of prep time to get sorted.
I hope the Swedes get their TV back in order by then. The coverage last night was pretty poor. At least there are some photos to look at now too from Tuesday and today's racing - click here
Getting Down to the Wire
The first Round Robin of the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship has soon come to an end. After nine respectively eight sailed matches Anna Kjellberg of Sweden and Claire Leroy of France are leading the competition with only one loss each. With that score the two leaders as well as Swedish Marie Björling are definitely set for the quarterfinals.The Swedish local Anna Kjellberg and French Claire Leroy have won all their matches today putting them on the top of the leaderboard. Three matches remain for the World Champion Leroy and two for Kjellberg in the first Round Robin, but regardless of the result they are sure to make it to the quarterfinals. Marie Björling from Sweden lost one of four matches today and therefore stays closely behind on the leaderboard.
Today was filled with both joy and disappointment for the many Swedish spectators and fans as reigning champion of Lysekil Linda Rahm, ranked four on the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Ranking, only won one of her matches today and will not make it to the quarterfinals.
Five teams will fight for the last three places to the quarterfinals. With today’s scoreboard it looks bright for the two Danish teams Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen and Camille Ulrikkeholm. The Danes are used to the boat type DS37 and have both sailed convincingly these first two days. The Australian teams with skippers Katie Spithill and Nicole Sauter, as well as American Sally Barkow also have a chance to proceed to the quarterfinals.
Result day 2: ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship (with ISAF women's match racing world ranking number):
Nine or eight sailed matches of 11 to sail in the first Round Robin
| Claire Leroy (1) FRA | 7-1 | one match less |
| Anna Kjellberg (10) SWE | 8-1 | |
| Marie Björling (43) SWE | 7-2 | |
| Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (5) DEN | 5-3 | one match less |
| Camilla Ulrikkeholm (13) DEN | 5-4 | |
| Katie Spithill (2) AUS | 4-4 | one match less |
| Sally Barkow (7) USA | 4-5 | |
| Nicole Souter (8) AUS | 4-5 | |
| Lucy Macgregor (3) GBR | 3-5 | one match less |
| Linda Rahm (4) SWE | 2-6 | one match less |
| Silke Hahlbrock (6) GER | 2-6 | one match less |
| Christelle Philippe (19) FRA | 0-9 |
News 1am 30th July 2009
Fairly scarce and intermitent TV coverage over the mornings sailing from Lysekil, but most of the preliminary round robin 1 has been conducted, with Nicky Souter fighting back to a position of 4wins and 5 losses, and Katie Spithill copping a bit of a bruising with no wins since yesterday - now on 4 wins and 4 losses with some of the toughest competitors yet to be faced.
The scoreboard shows Anna, Claire and Marie in strong positions, and Camilla, Lotte, Katie and Lucy next in line, with Claire, Lotte, Katie and Lucy still a match short of the others and only 3 matches left to run in their preliminary round robin.
News @ 6:30pm 28th July 2009
Spithill tied for the lead after day one of Women’s Match Racing World
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| 'Katie Spithill and crew in Sweden' Dan Ljungsvik LWM Click Here to view large photo |
The Australian Sailing Development Squad crew had four victories and just one loss in a tight opening day sailed in south-westerly winds of around 15 knots.
Spithill and crew are in the leading pack along with Claire Leroy, Camille Ulrikkeholm, Anna Kjellberg and Marie Björling.
There was plenty of on water action to keep the Swedish crowd entertained throughout the day with Spithill and crew having victories over Lotte Meldgaard Pederson from Denmark, Germany’s Silke Hahlbrock, Camilla Ulrikkeholm from Denmark and France’s Christelle Phillipe.
The second ASDS crew led by Nicky Souter had a tougher day than their compatriots with four losses and one win from their five matches.
Souter’s victory came over Great Britain’s Lucy Macgregor who went into the regatta ranked third in the world.
Racing continues on Tuesday with the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Champion to be crowned on August 1.
by Craig Heydon 10:54 AM Wed 29 Jul 2009
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Lysekil, Sweden, July 28, 2009.
Perfect Conditions for the First Day
A very tight start field put on a great show during the first day of the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship in Lysekil, Sweden. Five skippers, Claire Leroy, Katie Spithill, Camille Ulrikkeholm, Anna Kjellberg and Marie Björling have taken the lead with four matches won out of five in the first Round Robin.The World Championship started in perfect conditions. In blue skies and south-westerly winds at around 15 knots, the world’s foremost female match racing teams gave the many spectators action packed sailing with tough manoeuvres pushing the boats to their maximum. The excitement kept on going all day long with tight racing to the last match of the day.
- Today’s sailing proves even more that many teams are able to win. The competition is closer than previous years, said defending World Champion Claire Leroy who lost one match today against Swedish local Marie Björling.
Björling is having a successful comeback after a two-year break, showing great form.
- We sailed fast, handled the boat well, and made good tactical decisions, said Björling who was happy to start the regatta by beating the World Champion Claire Leroy and Lucy Macgregor ranked third on ISAF women’s world ranking list.
Result day 1: ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship (with ISAF women's match racing world ranking number):
5 matches sailed out of 11 in the first Round Robin
| Marie Björling (43) SWE | 4-1 |
| Claire Leroy (1) FRA | 4-1 |
| Anna Kjellberg (10) SWE | 4-1 |
| Katie Spithill (2) AUS | 4-1 |
| Camilla Ulrikkeholm (13) DEN | 4-1 |
| Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (5) DEN | 3-2 |
| Silke Hahlbrock (6) GER | 2-3 |
| Sally Barkow (7) USA | 2-3 |
| Lucy Macgregor (3) GBR | 1-4 |
| Linda Rahm (4) SWE | 1-4 |
| Nicole Souter (8) AUS | 1-4 |
| Christelle Philippe (19) FRA | 0-5 |
News 2:30am 28th July 2009
Well, the TV was finally setup on the official site - I thought I would be getting a number of nasty emails coming my way as the racing had started some time prior to the first broadcasts etc. Phew....
The TV was a little dodgy but I managed to reload it a number of times and stay in touch with all the action. You could see what a great place it is to hold an event like this, with all the rocks forming an arena type spectacle for the masses. It looks a great place to visit, but a fair trek from here....
Olivia got back to me within 20mins of the last race - what a tense time that was. I only managed to see the last two flights wholly and the last one had me yelling at the screens. I have two screens locked onto all the information eminating from the website so I don't miss much.
What about that last match- the first work was really tight up the right side just off the rocks. Katie was trailing slightly after trying to leebow Lotte from the start, both pushing for the rocky shore. Katie kept trying to force an error, as well as heading into the rocks for a grab of the lift on the opposite tack, but maybe tried it once to much. They exited a little astern then heading to the top mark.
They lost a winch handle up the last work and Jess needed it to grind so Olivia had to work the brace without it. "The last 30 seconds was a S/fight but our S/fight was a better one than theirs!" she said. She reckons they are a little better downwind than they are, as was the case back at Marstrand in the last run to the line to make the finals.
Katie and crew won all bar one flight, losing to Sally Barkow who "had amazing height and speed upwind - it was freaky" she said. Sally is now slouch, presently ranked about 6th I think.
Anyway, more round robins to come tomorrow. Silke apparently is facing two protests on two of her wins. There will be a top 6 repecharge planned if things go accordingly and it looks like they have plenty of time up their sleeve to do it.
I've received many responses already on the followers of the competition, even one from off shore heading back from Southport - on ya Wriggles.
I might try and get some sleep in before the sun comes up. Until later today, C ya.
News as @ 5pm 27th July 2009
Olivia has just reported in that although she has not seen the draw as yet, she knows Nicky Souter will be racing in their morning session (our time from 5:30pm) and her crew (Katie Spithill) will be racing their time in the afternoon in the 6th flight - around 2pmish their time which equates to 10pm our time.
They will be resting up (they are still adjusting to the fact that it is daylight all night so they are all a little bit disoriented) and then going to watch the others from the club from around 11am their time, then they are in to it!
The weather this morning is still windy but now sunny as the rain has passed. She is hoping that the wind will allow them to use the big genoas where they see they will have an advantage as they have been training with them to date. "It's harder but we have done more practice with them." she says.
All are very excited!!!!!
The following is copied from the Official Site for the 2009 World Championships Match Racing for Women, where the Aussies have two teams of six crew each competing at Lysekil, Sweden this week. The racing starts tomorrow with the first round robin starting our time at 5:30pm. Apparently there will be live coverage on the official site.
After Katie's win at Marstrand in the Match Cup Sweden, both our skippers Katie and Nicky will be out to prove themselves and to show the rest of the world that the Aussies are a force to be reckoned with. News from Olivia today sounded very promising with a good training session in 20kts - it was very cold and raining. "This regatta looks like being very windy so we shall see how it goes, it's the worlds and every crew has their own space" she said. The previous win at Marstrand was in relatively light breezes so this regatta is not only in different waters but quite different conditions for the top women sailors of the world.
Any news from the Aussies will be posted here over the next few days - stay tuned in.
from the official site - The World Championship in match racing for women!
The summer of 2009 it’s time for the fifth edition of Lysekil Women’s Match. This year with a World Championship status - the official name of the competition is ISAF Women’s Match World Championship Lysekil ’09. In this race the world’s premier all women crews compete to win a prize of 50.000 Euros.
Lysekil, Sweden, July 27, 2009.
First Round Robin Starting Tomorrow Tuesday
- ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship inaugurated today
The ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship in Lysekil is the most prestigious event in women's match racing. This year's championship has added interest, as it is the first in the four-year cycle, which will culminate in the 2012 Olympic sailing competition, where Women’s Match Racing will feature for the first time on the Olympic programme.
After a few hours of training in more than 20 knots of wind the 12 teams had a good taste of what to expect for the next coming five tough days of the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship in Lysekil, Sweden. Tomorrow starts the first “round robin”, when the teams all will meet each opponent once.
The 12 teams origin from seven different countries: Great Britain, France, Australia, USA, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. A tight starting field with many options for the gold medal.
Britain’s 22-year old Lucy MacGregor is the youngest skipper in the World Championship, but one of the most successful, ranked third on the ISAF women’s world ranking list. MacGregor already has a busy campaign, training full time towards the 2012 Olympics in her home waters in Great Britain.
French world champion Claire Leroy is of course one of the favourites for gold as well as Australian Katie Spithill, who won the important Match Race Sweden earlier in July. Several of the Scandinavian teams have clear chances for gold with Swedish Linda Rahm, defending her two-time victory in in Lysekil 2008 and 2007, leading the way. The Swedes and Danes are used to sailing on the Danish race yacht, DS37 match racer, a fast and physical match racing yacht, ideal both competition wise and spectator wise.
The opening ceremony will take place tonight by the impressive full-rigger ship Götheborg. During the week more than 85 000 spectators are expected to watch the yacht racing or join some of the many activities on land like free concerts, outdoor cinema, auction or shopping clothes, food and even beds in one of the many exhibition stands.
Lysekil Women`s Match will be held for the fifth time in Lysekil. The event has become a major attraction and the number of spectators has increased dramatically since the first event in 2004.
Did you know?
Each match will last for about 15-20 minutes and there will be around 20 matches sailed each day from Tuesday to Saturday.
12 skippers to the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship (with ISAF world ranking number):
Claire Leroy (1) FRA
Katie Spithill (2) AUS
Lucy MacGregor (3) GBR
Linda Rahm (4)SWE
Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (5) DEN
Silke Hahlbrock (6) GER
Sally Barkow (7) USA
Nicole Souter (8) AUS
Anna Kjellberg (10) SWE
Camilla Ulrikkeholm (13) DEN
Christelle Philippe (19) FRA
Marie Björling (wild card) SWE
Katie Spithill’s victory in Marstrand!
Press Release Lysekil Women’s Match
ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship 2009
Lysekil, Sweden, July 7, 2009.
Australian Katie Spithill Shows Great Form in Marstrand Before the World Championship in Lysekil- Swedes Anna Kjellberg and Linda Rahm strong opponents taking second and third
The prestigious regatta Match Cup Sweden at Marstrand last week was the big build up event for eight of the 12 teams competing in the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship in Lysekil, in Sweden, 27 July to 1 August.
Australian Katie Spithill won the regatta at Marstrand, showing great form with strong, solid sailing in the DS 37, the same boat type to be used at the World Championship in Lysekil. Spithill, ranked 7 on the Women’s ISAF World Match Race Ranking list, has a silver medal from the World Championship Katie Spithillin France 2007. She has participated in several grade 1-regattas in Lysekil but has never made the podium in the waters of Lysekil.- To have won in Marstrand was an amazing experience for me, and something I didn’t dream of doing this year. But the world championship in Lysekil is now a new event in a new location, so it starts all over again. All of the competitors in this year’s world championship are to be watched, it is a great line up and will be a tough event for everyone.
Click here to read the entire press release
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