Kiwis make spectacular climb in ISAF Rankings

by Sail-World + ISAF on 4 May 2006

Andrew Murdoch (NZL) gets away to a great start in the Medal Race at Hyeres Gilles Martin-Raget http://www.martin-raget.com/

New Zealand sailors have retained their two #1 positions in the latest ISAF Rankings for the Olympic classes announced overnight. Three other New Zealand sailors have joined them in the top ten in their respective classes. This is the best performance ever for NZL sailors in the ISAF Rankings.

In the Mens RS:X board, JP Tobin holds his #1 ranking, counting a 12th place from Semaine Olympique Francaise (SOF), the ISAF Grade 1 regatta which concluded at Hyeres on Saturday (NZT)

Sharon Ferris, Ashley Holtum and Raynor Smeal also hold their #1 position in the ISAF Rankings in the Yngling class. They finished a solid fifth at SOF, and are also carrying the bonus of an Olympic place from Athens 2004.

The big news for New Zealand comes from further down the tables, where three members of the YNZ 2006 Olympic Squad have moved into the top ten, for the first time.

Tom Ashley has moved from 11th to fourth in the rankings, again helped by 2004 Athens 2004 points, but also on the back of very solid performances at SOF, where he finished fourth, and a good performance in the Grade 2 regatta Princess Sofia Trophy at La Palma.

Dan Slater jumps from 14th in the rankings to seventh in the latest edition, again boosted by a fourth place at SOF. Emirates TNZ member, Ben Ainslie (GBR), drops three places to tenth.

Andrew Murdoch is another who has jumped through the rankings from 16th to seventh in the May rankings. Murdoch was one of three Kiwis who finished fourth at Hyeres. Michael Bullot holds steady moving from 35th to 32nd.

Of the other YNZ 2006 Olympic Squad members Jo Aleh has moved from 28th to 20th in the Laser Radial; Aaron McIntosh and Bruce Kendall have lifted from 60th to 47th place in the Tornado catamaran. Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams/David Chiles have jumped 37 places in the Star two man keelboat to lie in 53rd position in their first year in the rankings.

The full ISAF Rankings List and Commentary follows:

ISAF World Sailing Rankings

Rankings Released 3 May 2006

Over 1,000 sailors and nearly 100 races boiled down to a final day of drama in Hyères; a day where the leading crews proved they are adapting well to the extra pressure of the Medal Races. And the leaders are the big winners in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings, with a single change amongst the top spots, whilst Britain’s position as the Rankings’ top nation takes another hit.

Whilst Chris DRAPER and Simon HISCOCKS (GBR) return to the summit of the 49er Rankings and give Britain a number one spot, their total number of crews across the top three positions drop from seven to five this month. However as France also see a fall from five to four top three crews, the Brits still remain the top Olympic sailing nation in the Rankings. Both Spain and New Zealand though still hold two top spots apiece, and Spain is joined by Austria and the USA in having three crews featuring in the top threes.

In fact, as the Olympic cycle approaches its midway point, the top Rankings’ places seem to be becoming more and more equally distributed. In this release of the Rankings 16 nations hold a top three spot, compared to 14 for the previous three releases of 2006. Whilst the European nations still have a firm grip on the Rankings, the performance of the non Europeans in Hyères suggests this trend towards diversity is set to continue, particularly with the strong performance of Australia, who secured one gold medal and could well have had two were it not for the early departure of Darren BUNDOCK and Glenn ASHBY (AUS) from the Tornado regatta. The Aussies are surprisingly absent from the list of nations with a top three placing crew, a fact which is sure to be doubly painful in the light of New Zealand’s two number one spots.

For now, those non Europeans looking to build their Rankings success will have to do so without the luxury of sailing on home waters. The European season is in full flight, with the next stop Lake Neusiedl in Austria and the ISAF World Sailing Games. Then the action moves on to the Netherlands, with June then seeing the first of the Olympic Class World Championships, when the 49ers go head to head in France.

The Big Leaders

Spanish Tornado team Fernando ECHAVARRI and Anton PAZ continue to hold the biggest points total across the eleven Olympic events, with the ISAF Rolex World Sailors of the Year still counting big points from their World and European victories last year, and actually increasing their tally this month to 5102 after finishing fifth in Hyères. They also now hold the biggest lead in the Rankings, lying 264 points ahead of World number two crew and winners in Hyères, Xavier REVIL and Christophe ESPAGNON (FRA). Meanwhile, despite victory in France Paige RAILEY (USA) sees a major chunk taken out of her lead in the Laser Radial, as her team mate Anna TUNNICLIFFE (USA) continues to make rapid progress.

For many of the Rankings' stars
Lake Neusiedl and the ISAF
World Sailing Games await
© Konrad UNGER

Ingrid PETITJEAN and Nadege DOROUX (FRA) also hold a commanding 200+ point lead and have now held the World number one spot in the Women’s 470 Rankings for 22 consecutive Ranking releases.

Elsewhere the leading crews look a lot less comfortable in their number one spots, and with the European season moving into top gear, there looks set to be plenty of intrigue to come as the battle for World number one status continues.

About The Rankings

The ISAF World Sailing Rankings rate skippers based on their performances over the last two years. Skippers score points by competing in ISAF Graded events. The top finishers at all ISAF Graded events score Rankings points, with the highest points awarded to the event winner and then decreasing down relative to position. The most points are up for grabs at World Championship events, followed by ISAF Grade C1 events, Grade 1, Grade 2 etc. For more on how the Rankings work CLICK HERE.

The tables on the right hand side show the new events included in this Ranking release. The next Rankings release will be on 31 May, following the ISAF World Sailing Games and ISAF Grade 1 Holland Regatta.

1. Men's Windsurfer – RS:X

ISAF Grade	Nation	Event
Grade 1	FRA	Semaine Olympique Française

The RS:X fleet put on an
impressive show in France
© Gilles MARTIN-RAGET

The pressure is mounting on Jon-Paul TOBIN (NZL) at the top of the Men’s RS:X Rankings, with Poland’s Piotr MYSZKA and Przemek MIARCZYNSKI both closing the gap on the Kiwi after he missed out on the Medal Race in Hyères. MYSZKA secured the bronze medal at the ISAF Grade 1 Semaine Olympique Française and consequently cuts the gap at the top from 275 to 214 points.

After an impressive start to the year in the Southern Hemisphere, TOBIN has not quite managed to produce the goods so far in Europe, with two twelfth places in the ISAF Grade 2 Princess Sofia Trophy and now Hyères. In contrast, team mate Tom ASHLEY (NZL) has been at the top of his game. He took the bronze in Palma, and looked well set for another medal in France until going OCS in race seven and then finishing 22 in race nine. Still a bullet in the Medal Race lifted the Kiwi to sixth overall and sees him rise seven places in the Rankings to 4.

Moving up eight places meanwhile is Britain’s Olympic bronze medallist Nick DEMPSEY, who climbs from 15 to 7 following a silver in France. Going to Hyères DEMPSEY had looked unbeatable in his two previous RS:X regattas at the ISAF Grade 1 Rolex Miami OCR and in Palma. However gear failure on the first day immediately put him on the back foot, and he was playing catch up from then on. Hyères winner Casper BOUMAN (NED) is rapidly emerging as a high wind expert in the RS:X, with the tall Dutchman excellent in the breezy conditions during the regatta. Only in the Medal Race did he look uncomfortable, with BOUMAN feeling the pressure and almost managing to throw victory away with a tenth place. However with DEMPSEY only able to take fourth, BOUMAN held on to gold and consequently climbs eight places to 9 in the Rankings.

Also on the rise is France’s 2005 Mistral World Champion Nicolas HUGUET, up from 21 to 12, the Ukraine’s Maxim OBEREMKO, up from 16 to 10 and Spain’s Ivan PASTOR, rising to 5 from 10. Another 18 sailors joining the Rankings this release, increasing the total to 120.

Men's Windsurfer ISAF World Sailing Rankings

2. Women's Windsurfer – RS:X

ISAF Grade	Nation	Event
Grade 1	FRA	Semaine Olympique Française

The largest Women's RS:X fleet
to date gathered in Hyères
© Gilles MARTIN-RAGET

Marina ALABAU’s (ESP) win in Hyères ensures she keeps the top spot in the Women’s RS:X Rankings for the third consecutive release. Bryony SHAW (GBR) stays second despite a disappointing ninth at the ISAF Grade 1 Semaine Olympique Française, whilst Antonia FREY (GRE) moves up one place to third after taking fourth in France. Also up one place is ISAF Youth Worlds Champion Blanca MANCHON (ESP), from 6 to 5 after silver in France, whilst four-time Youth Worlds winner Zofia KLEPACKA (POL) moves up ten places to 7 following on from third place in Hyères.

Also new into the top ten thanks to high finishes in France are Angeliki SKARLATOU (GRE) and Lisa VIDAL (FRA), moving up to 8 and 10 respectively. Amongst eight new entries into the top 20, are another former Youth Worlds Champion Agata BRYGOZA (POL) and ISAF Grade 1 Sail Melbourne winner Qiubin CHEN (CHN).

CHEN is the highest Ranked of eight of her fellow countrywomen on the Rankings, with the Chinese seemingly looking for a strong challenge in the RS:X after Jian YIN’s (CHN) silver medal in the Mistral in Athens. On the topic of Olympians, of the 13 new entries this month, Olympic Champion Faustine MERRET (FRA) goes in at 26, after a inconsistent series in Hyères saw her end up in 18th place. Still the French star ended on a high with a bullet in the final race perhaps a sign of things to come.

Women's Windsurfer ISAF World Sailing Rankings

3. Men's One Person Dinghy – Laser

ISAF Grade	Nation	Event
Grade 1	FRA	Semaine Olympique Française
Grade 3	NED	United 4 Sailing

Robert SCHEIDT's dominant 2005
performance is keeping him top
of the Laser Rankings
© MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/
Getty Image

With just one ISAF Grade 1 event and one Grade 3 event counting towards this Ranking release there is little surprise that the top positions remain unchanged. Robert SCHEIDT (BRA) continues to lead the way but without competing, he cannot stay up there forever. Behind him, Paul GOODISON (GBR) hangs onto the number two position, despite a disastrous regatta at the ISAF Grade 1 Semaine Olympique Française. After suffering gear failure in race three and picking up two BFD's, GOODISON only just made the gold fleet. His credible 16 position overall is good enough to add to his Ranking points as he drops off some older regattas.

2004 Olympic silver medallist, Andreas GERITZER (AUT) stays at number three, with bronze medallist Vasilij ZBOGAR (CRO) just behind him in at number four.

Thundering his way into the top ten is Andrew MURDOCH (NZL), who claimed victory in the Medal Race in Hyères to finish fourth overall. His ranking position benefits as he moves up nine places to number seven. There is just one new entry to the top 20 and that is the bronze medallist in Hyères, Michael LEIGH (CAN), who climbs three places up to 18.

Leading for most of the series in Hyères with three bullets and two second place finishes was Tom SLINGSBY (AUS). Whilst his ranking position slips one place to number nine, his string of podium finishes at ISAF Grade 1 events puts him in good stead for a strong future.

Another young sailor looking to the future is Jean Baptiste BERNAZ (FRA). The silver medallist at the 2005 ISAF Youth Worlds, the 2005 Byte World Champion and 2005 Laser Radial Youth World Champion continues to make his mark on the senior circuit. A tenth place finish in Hyères helps BERNAZ climb 58 places up to enter the top 100 for the first time at number 95.

Five sailors claimed Ranking points from the ISAF Grade 3 United 4 Sailing in Hoorn, Netherlands. Topping the podium was Douwe BROEKENS (NED) who now counts three events and moves up the Rankings to number 334 from 366.

Men's One Person Dinghy ISAF World Sailing Rankings

4. Women's One Person Dinghy - Laser Radial

ISAF Grade	Nation	Event
Grade 1	FRA	Semaine Olympique Française
Grade 3	NED	United 4 Sailing

Another event, another win for
Paige RAILEY
© Gilles MARTIN-RAGET

As for the Laser fleet, just two events count for the Laser Radial in this Ranking release and there is also no change to the top five.

Pagie RAILEY (USA) continues her domination of this fleet and after notching up her ninth win from 13 ISAF Graded events she holds firm to her position at the top of the World Rankings. Behind her, her rival Anna TUNNICLIFFE (USA) sailed an extremely consistent series at the ISAF Grade 1 Semaine Olympique Française but could not do enough to challenge RAILEY for her Rankings' crown and remains at number two. Laura BALDWIN (GBR) did not have such a good result in Hyères, finishing seventh, but she stays at number three.

The most consistent sailor in the championship was 2005 Youth Worlds silver medallist XU Lija (CHN) who finished the way she began with a bullet. Third overall in Hyères gives her three results to count towards her Ranking, and added to her second place at the Youth Worlds and at the ISAF Grade 1 Sail Melbourne, she climbs up 38 places to number 83.

Five more sailors join the Ranking list today, the highest being Manon BORSI (FRA) who finished 35 in Hyères and joins the Rankings at number 182.

Anneke BOUWMEESTER (NED) claimed the gold medal in Hoorn at the ISAF Grade 3 United 4 Sailing and moves 56 up the Ranking to number 191, whilst second placed Laura MAES (BEL) climbs 21 places up to number 143. The only other Belgian sailor on the Laser Radial Rankings also makes up good ground in this release. Evi VAN ACKER's sixth place finish in Hyères boosts her into the top 15 for the first time as she moves up eleven places to 14.

The only other new entry to the top 20 is Jo ALEH (NZL), who finished just outside the medals in Hyères and moves up eight places to number 20.

Women's One Person Dinghy ISAF World Sailing Rankings

5. Men's Two Person Dinghy – 470

ISAF Grade	Nation	Event
Grade 1	FRA	Semaine Olympique Française
Grade 3	NED	United 4 Sailing

Gideon KLIGER and Udi GAL
are on the top of their game
© Gilles MARTIN-RAGET

Things are tight, but Gidi KLIGER and Udi GAL (ISR) remain the World’s top 470 crew for the fifth consecutive Rankings’ release and are undeniably the form team on the circuit right now. The Israeli pair led throughout the regatta at the ISAF Grade 1 Semaine Olympique Française, sealing victory with a bullet in the Medal Race. This latest victory is their fourth in a row, with the pair unbeaten in Europe so far this season.

World number two crew Alvaro MARINHO and Miguel NUNES (POR) missed out on the podium in France after a poor performance in the Medal Race, but remain within 50 points of the top spot, whilst silver in Hyères lifts Gabrio ZANDONA and Andrea TRANI (ITA) above Benjamin BONNAUD and Romain BONNAUD (FRA) into third.

Also on the rise is Japan’s Olympic bronze medallist Kazuhito SEKI, sailing with crew Yanagawa SYOUCHI to seventh in France and moving up from 13 to 12 in the Rankings, whilst despite missing out on the Medal Race, the USA’s Michael ANDERSON-MITTERLING and David HUGHES jump up from 18 to 13.

Further down the Rankings, 16 year old Axel VAN BLADEL and Sander VAN BLADEL (NED) move up from 156 to 144 after winning the ISAF Grade 3 United 4 Sailing in Hoorn, Netherlands.

Men's Two Person Dinghy ISAF World Sailing Rankings

6. Women's Two Person Dinghy – 470

ISAF Grade	Nation	Event
Grade 1	FRA	Semaine Olympique Française

The Women's 470 fleet in
France produced some
surprise results
© Gilles MARTIN-RAGET

Ingrid PETITJEAN and Nadege DOUROUX (FRA) may not have repeated their victory of last year at the ISAF Grade 1 Semaine Olympique Française, but the French pair outperformed their rivals at the top of the Women’s 470 Rankings to keep them well clear of the chasing pack and World number one crew for the 22nd consecutive Rankings’ release.

The newly formed Israeli partnership of Adi GILBOA and Vered BOUSKILA proved surprise winners in France, with the Women’s 470 Junior World Championship bronze medallist GILBOA teaming up with Nike KORNECKI’s (ISR) former crew BOUSKILA to excellent effect. Despite a 25 in the opening race, the pair went on to record consistent finishes through the regatta, and when the Medal Race could not be started, ended up taking gold in only their second ISAF Graded event together. It is no surprise therefore to see them make a big jump up the Rankings from 58 to 83.

The Japanese crew of Yuka YOSHISAKO and Noriko OHKUMA were also somewhat of a surprise package in France, taking the silver medal. They appear to have hit somewhat of a purple patch this year, starting off with a victory at Sail Melbourne. Unfortunately though their win in Australia was not reflected in the Rankings, as the Women’s 470 fleet there failed to meet the ISAF Graded event criteria. However now with their finish in Hyères they move up from 32 to 24 and are still only counting five of a possible seven events in their points total.

2003 ISAF Youth Worlds silver medallists Camille LECOINTRE and Gwendolyn LEMAITRE (FRA) have made steady progress up the Rankings since moving on to the senior circuit two years ago, and the young pair outperformed their better known team mates PETITJEAN and DOUROUX to record a third in France and their best finish to date. They remain at 20 in the Rankings, the second highest of the French crews.

Meanwhile Youth Worlds gold medallist Pippa WILSON scored a fifth place finish in France with crew Sheena CRAIG (GBR) to move up from 9 to 6. The second highest of the Brits, behind World number two crew Christina BASSADONE and Saskia CLARK. Despite a disappointing 19th in France, Sylvia VOGL and Carolina FLATSCHER (AUT) remain in the World number three spot.

Women's Two Person Dinghy ISAF World Sailing Rankings

7. Skiff - 49er

ISAF Grade	Nation	Event
Grade 1	FRA	Semaine Olympique Française

The Olympic Champions are
back in the top five after their
win in Hyères
© Gilles MARTIN-RAGET

After losing their long held top spot in April, Chris DRAPER and Simon HISCOCKS (GBR) are back in pole position in the 49er Rankings, despite missing out on the medals at the ISAF Grade 1 Semaine Olympique Française. With the former number one crew of World Champions Rodion LUKA and George LEONCHUK (UKR) not competing in France, DRAPER and HISCOCKS’ consistent performances over the two year Rankings’ period see them immediately jump back to the top of the Rankings. They now hold a narrow 113 point lead over bronze medallists in Hyères, Pietro SIBELLO and Gianfranco SIBELLO (ITA), who themselves also move up two places from 4 to 2. Austria’s Nico DELLE KARTH and Niko RECSH complete the top three, despite only completing three races in France.

LUKA and LEONCHUK’s Hyères no show sees them fall from first to fourth, whilst there is a welcome return to the top five for Olympic Champions Iker MARTINEZ and Xabier FERNANDEZ (ESP). The Spanish duo slipped right back into 49er mode in Hyères, seemingly unaffected from their round the world jaunt on Spanish Volvo Ocean Race entrant movistar, to win in style with six bullets including a crucial Medal Race victory. Stevie MORRISON and Ben RHODES (GBR) pushed the Spaniards all the way in Hyères, and at one stage were leading the Medal Race, a position which would have given them overall victory. It would also have given them fifth place in the Rankings, but it was not to be and the Brits consequently drop to sixth place overall.

One new entry into the top 20, see the Danish crew of Emil TOFT NIELSEN and Simon TOFT NIELSEN move from 23 to 18, after a career best ISAF Grade 1 regatta performance of eighth.

Skiff ISAF World Sailing Rankings

8. Heavyweight Dinghy – Finn

ISAF Grade	Nation	Event
Grade 1	FRA	Semaine Olympique Française

The Finn battle in Hyères has
seen the top of the Rankings
close up
© Gilles MARTIN-RAGET

Emilios PAPATHANASIOU (GRE) remains top of the Finn Rankings for the third consecutive release, although the gap at the top has narrowed, after the Greek was unable to match his 2005 display at Hyères last week. In second place, Jonas HOEGH-CHRISTENSEN (DEN) moves to within 60 points of the top spot, after a podium finish at the ISAF Grade 1 Semaine Olympique Française last week. Victory in France went to an extremely impressive Ed WRIGHT (GBR), with the former Laser sailor producing the sort of dominant bullet strewn display associated with his Olympic Champion team mate Ben AINSLIE (GBR). After securing his first major event victory, WRIGHT increases his Rankings’ points total, but does not manage to better his position and stays at number six. With AINSLIE, still concentrating on his position at Emirates Team New Zealand, dropping down another three places to ten, WRIGHT is now comfortably the top Ranked British sailor in the Finn, with these two stars shaping up for a battle royal for the British slot in Beijing.

Like PAPATHANASIOU, Gasper VINCEC (SLO) also failed to mount a strong challenge for the lead in France, with a disappointing tenth in the Medal Race finally seeing him drop to sixth overall. However with Sweden’s Daniel BIRGMARK only managing tenth, VINCEC leapfrogs him to move up to third overall. Similar to WRIGHT, New Zealand’s Dan SLATER made the switch from the Laser at the start of last year, and like the Brit he has been quick to find a lot of speed in the heavier boat. After finishing 19th in his ISAF Graded Finn regatta in Hyères last year, SLATER went on to finish second at the Europeans and six at the Finn Gold Cup. This year in France he sailed to fourth place, a result which sees him enter the top ten for the first time, climbing from 14 to 7.

Heavyweight Dinghy ISAF World Sailing Rankings

9. Multihull – Tornado

ISAF Grade	Nation	Event
Grade 1	FRA	Semaine Olympique Française

Xavier REVIL and Christophe
ESPAGNON's win in France
sees them increase the pressure
on the leaders
© Gilles MARTIN-RAGET

ISAF Rolex World Sailors of the Year Fernando ECHAVARRI and Anton PAZ (ESP) remain over 200 points clear at the top of the Tornado Rankings, although the Spanish crew have yet to recapture the sparkling form that saw them dominate last year’s major events. A poor start cost them dear at the ISAF Grade 1 Semaine Olympique Française, where inconsistent was the best word to describe their performance. With a 25 in the opening race giving the World Champions no margin for error, a 28 in the penultimate race ruled them out of the medals.

Gold in Hyères went to World number two crew and defending champions Xavier REVIL and Christophe ESPAGNON (FRA), who consequently edge a little close to the number one spot. Meanwhile second place for Roland GAEBLER and Gunnar STRUCKMANN (GER) sees them climb one Ranking spot from 8 to 7. Felloe Germans Johannes POLGAR and Florian SPALTEHOLZ also move up one place from fourth to third, after finishing fourth in France. They were beaten to the final podium spot in Hyères by the Greek team of Iordanis PASCHALIDES and Kostas TRIGONIS, whose Medal Race bullet secured them bronze, although due to the rolling calculation they fall one place in the Rankings from 15 to 16.

Climbing up four spots to ten is multiple World Champion Darren BUNDOCK and crew Glenn ASHBY (AUS). The Aussies put in a great performance in France and held the lead going into the Medal Race. However they dropped to tenth after leaving the regatta a day early to compete at (and win) the Eurocat regatta.

Multihull ISAF World Sailing Rankings

10. Women's Keelboat – Yngling

ISAF Grade	Nation	Event
Grade 1	FRA	Semaine Olympique Française

Sally BARKOW's USA team
scored another win in Hyères
© Gilles MARTIN-RAGET

The top four crews in the Yngling Rankings remain unchanged, with the Kiwi team of Sharon FERRIS, Raynor SMEAL and Ashley HOLTUM still the World number one crew after a fifth place finish at the ISAF Grade 1 Semaine Olympique Française.

World Champions Sally BARKOW, Carrie HOWE and Deborah CAPOZZI (USA) must be wondering what they have to do to move from fourth spot, staying stationary for the third consecutive release despite their third event victory of the year in Hyères. The Americans missed out on the 2004 Olympic Games, and the lack of a big Rankings score from Athens is essentially what is keeping them off the top spot. With their title defence at the Dexia Private Banking ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship meaning they will also miss out on the ISAF Grade 1 Holland Regatta, the Americans look like they will have to wait until June to re-launch their campaign for the World number one spot. With the Match Worlds and Yngling Worlds within six weeks of each other, BARKOW, HOWE and CAPOZZI have a busy summer ahead, and if they could repeat their success of last year, could well achieve the unique feat of holding two World number spots simultaneously (BARKOW is currently third in the ISAF World Match Race Rankings).

Back to the current state of affairs and the British crew of Sarah AYTON, Sarah WEBB and Victoria RAWLINSON gain another place up to seven after another runners up spot behind the Americans in France. Moving into eighth behind them is the German crew of Ulrike SCHUEMANN, Runa KAPPEL and Ute HOEPFNER, who completed the podium in Hyères.

Women's Keelboat ISAF World Sailing Rankings

11. Men's Keelboat – Star

ISAF Grade	Nation	Event
Grade 1	ITA	Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship

Naples, Italy hosted the only ISAF Graded event to add points to this Ranking release for the Star fleet and topping the podium at the ISAF Grade 1 Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship were Fredrik LÖÖF and Anders EKSTRÖM (SWE). This victory mirrors their position on the ISAF World Sailing Rankings on which they are no strangers to the number one position. The top three remain the same for this release with George SZABO and Eric MONROE holding onto the number two spot for the USA and World Champions Xavier ROHART and Pascal RAMBEAU (FRA), who had two bad races in Naples and finished fifth overall, remain at the number three position.

The big movers in the top ten are Mateusz KUSZNIEREWICZ and Dominik ZYCKI (POL) who climb six places up to number six. A relative newcomer to the Star fleet, ex Finn sailor KUSZNIEREWICZ had a disappointing result in Naples finishing 22, but now counts seven results to make up his total Ranking points which explains his climb. Third overall in Naples were Luca MODENA and Michele MARCHESINI (ITA) and they also move into the top ten for their first time. Now at number eight this duo have climbed a whopping 58 places in the last twelve months.

The biggest news in the top 20 is the arrrival of five new teams. The biggest climbers are John DANE and Austin SPERRY (USA) who climb 24 places up to number 20. This team finished seventh in Naples which they add to three other top five results from ISAF Grade 1 regattas and look set to continue their assault on the Rankings in the next few months. There are now five American teams in the top 20 so the battle for national supremacy is sure to intensify further as the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition looms ever closer. Also climbing 24 places into the top 20 are Andrew MURDOCH and Brian FAITH (USA) who move from 42 up to 18 whilst the silver medallists in Naples, Mark MENDLEBLATT and Mark STRUBE (USA) move up 21 places to number 15.

The casualties of this Ranking release include Torben GRAEL and Marcelo FERREIRA (BRA), who crash down from 16 to 35 whilst their Star campaign takes a back seat to the Volvo Ocean Race, and Iain PERCY and Steve MITCHELL (GBR), the former of which is focussed on the +39 America's Cup campaign.

Men's Keelboat ISAF World Sailing Rankings