Blanck finishes fifth at Europe Worlds

by Di Pearson on 18 Jul 2004 Siren Sundby (NOR) the No. 1 Europe sailor in the world, has successfully defended the Europe World Championship, sailed from the Yacht Club Cagliari in Sardinia, Italy, where the fight for the top five places continued all the way to the end.

Sundby snatched back what appeared to be the unassailable lead of World ranked No. 2, Petra Niemann (GER), who in turn slipped and had to settle for third place after World ranked 3, Sari Multala (FIN) slid through from fourth to finish second overall.

World ranked 4, Lenka Smidova (CZE) – did just that – finished fourth overall, whilst the World’s No. 8, Sarah Blanck (AUS) the quietly spoken and acting Victorian, did what she is particularly good at – worked her way back from an early 17th to finish fifth overall, some 32 points behind the winner. A win in the penultimate race, (her third in the series) shows she has what it takes.

There, in my opinion, are the medal contenders, with Sundby at a distinct advantage for Gold. However, like any Olympics, which, for obvious reasons, tends to have an overwhelming affect on a lot of competitors, anything can happen.

Blanck should not be discounted either; she has what it takes to win Gold and did win these World Championships in 2003.

Fellow Victorian, Krystal Weir, at her first major outing in the class (she has sailed only few regattas in the Europe, starting in January this year), also made the Gold fleet finals and has finished in 26th place.

Weir is the current Laser Radial World Champion and her talent knows no bounds. Sydney’s Clarke Hozack also did well, finishing 13th in the Silver fleet.


1 NOR Sundby Siren, Norway 25,0

2 FIN Multala Sari, Finland 39,0

3 GER Niemann Petra, Germany 43,0

4 CZE Smidova Lenka, Czech Rep 47,0

5 AUS Blanck Sarah, Australia 57,0

25 AUS Weir Krystal, Australia 174,0


For full results: http://www.yachtclub-cagliari.com/europa/index.htm