Autenrieth wins Optimist World Championship

by Robert Wilkes/Ho Shu Fen (As Amended By ISAF) on 10 Jan 2007 Julian Autenrieth (GER) is the 2006 Optimist World Champion after a nail-biting final day in Montevideo, Uruguay. Autenrieth pipped Griselda Khng (SIN) to the title, getting the better of his rival in the final race to take the overall prize.

Race 15a was completed by 12:30 in shifting winds but several attempts to sail the other four divisions were abandoned as the Race Committee and sailors waited in 32°C heat for the huge swings to give way to the incoming northerly.

By chance Autenrieth, from the Bayerischer YC, was in the same start as the overnight leader Khng. His target was to finish in the top nine and two points ahead of his rival. Autenrieth responded to the pressure with a sixth in the final race, whilst Khng came in tenth to see the German emerge as champion by just two points.

Latin American sentiment was consoled by the well-deserved bronze taken by Edgar DIMINICH of Ecuador who, at 55 kg, contradicted the idea that this was a regatta for lightweights. Peru’s Stephanie Zimmermann came in fourth, tied on points but with more bullets than Malaysia’s Rufina Tan.

Champions of girls' sailing may regret that we do not have a female champion to follow Tina Lutz's (GER) 2005 win, but it is notable that seven of the top 21 sailors were female.

In second place overall, 15 year old Singapore Sports School student Khng emerged as the top female to end her Optimist career with a golden touch. Khng's performance also helped Singapore to walk away with the Miami Herald Trophy (the Nations Championship) awarded to the country with the best aggregate score of their top four sailors. The Singapore's five-member team, including Timothy SEET and Sean LEE, both 15, and Russell Kan and Rachel Lee, both 13, all finished within the top 15 overall.

'What an amazing achievement by the Singapore sailors. They have put on their best, individually and as a team, to clinch three titles at the Worlds. Such outstanding performance is unprecedented and the best displayed ever by any country at the Optimist Sailing Worlds,' said Singapore Team Manager Edwin Low.

Top Ten Results

Pos	Nation	Name	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	R13	R14	R15	Pts
1	GER	Julian AUTENRIETH	1	1	9	12	5	3	(38)	(20)	14	3	12	1	1	4	6	72
2	SIN	Griselda KHNG	8	(15)	8	8	1	7	(78) OCS	4	1	8	11	6	1	1	10	74
3	ECU	Edgar DIMINICH	2	18	17	1	(78) BFD	1	6	1	(34)	4	1	9	2	10	18	90
4	PER	Stephanie ZIMMERMANN	1	20	2	(29)	7	17	19	(31)	5	2	10	3	2	3	4	95
5	MAS	Rufina TAN	(78) OCS	3	8	(65)	4	11	9	5	12	6	8	4	3	19	3	95
6	NZL	Marcus HANSEN	20	13	3	1	1	6	31	1	14	7	(37)	(78) OCS	4	5	1	107
7	ECU	Jonathan MARTINETTI	(78) OCS	4	2	2	19	3	31	(46)	3	15	5	10	4	7	16 RDG	121
8	CHI	Benjamin GREZ	31	2	22	10	(37)	2	3	31	2	(36)	14	5	13	3	2	140
9	ITA	Leonardo DUBBINI	(35)	(53)	8	13	15	7	18	14	18	2	8	8	17	14	6	148
10	SIN	Russell KAN	5	19	(48)	11	22	12	(34)	12	2	12	18	10	12	5	10	150