Changes at top of ISAF World Sailing Rankings

by ISAF on 4 Sep 2008
There are two new leaders in the latest release of the ISAF World Sailing Rankings and some major changes elsewhere with the inclusion of results from the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition.

Following on from the sailing events at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games there are some major changes amongst the leaders in this release of the World Rankings. Australia holds on to their top nation standing in this Ranking release after winning two gold and one silver medal at the Games.
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The Aussies lost one of their three world #1 spots after their Laser star Tom SLINGSBY (AUS) endured a very difficult Olympic debut, but they still hold two #1, two #2 and one #3 position on the World Rankings. Just behind them Great Britain climbs up from fourth to second in the national standings after topping the medal tally with one of the best-ever national performances at the Olympic Sailing Competition, winning four gold, one silver and one bronze medal. The only thing holding the British team back in the Rankings is the limited number of appearances made by some of their star names which has cost them Ranking points but did nothing to halt their success in Qingdao.

Spain, which won one gold and one silver medal in Qingdao, is tied with Great Britain as the second-best nation with two #1 and two #2 crews. Poland drop back from second to fourth in the national standings after failing to deliver any medals in China despite having what was probably their strongest-ever Olympic sailing team. Italy, winners of one silver and one bronze medal at the Games, complete the top five in the national standings.

Following on from the Games there are two new leaders at the top of the 11 ISAF World Ranking lists. Paul GOODISON of Great Britain reclaims the top spot in the Laser, after winning Olympic gold in Qingdao. In the Women’s 470 Rankings former leaders also return to the top spot with Italians Giulia CONTI and Giovanna MICOL at back in the world #1 spot. CONTI and MICOL missed out on the medals with fifth place finish, but still overtake former leaders Ai KONDO and Naoko KAMATA, who struggled to a 14th place finish.

Of the 11 crews who held world #1 rankings going into the Games, five won medals, including gold medals for Anna TUNNICLIFFE (USA) in the Laser Radial, Nathan WILMOT and Malcolm PAGE (AUS) in the Men’s 470 and Sarah AYTON, Sarah WEBB and Pippa WILSON (GBR) in the Yngling. Of the 11 gold medal winners, six held a world ranking in the top three going into the Games.

It’s no surprise that the biggest move at the top of the Rankings this month comes from British Finn sailor Ben AINSLIE. After winning his third consecutive Olympic gold medal. AINSLIE jumps 15 places up the Rankings to #13, although his Ranking position is still being held back by his reduced appearances over the past couple of years. Finn silver medallist Zach RAILEY (USA) hits his best-ever Ranking at #9, with bronze medallist Guillaume FLORENT (FRA) also making big gains up from #23 to #14.

Olympic gold medallists Nathan WILMOT and Malcolm PAGE (AUS) are unsurprisingly unmoved at the top of the Men’s 470 Rankings. Silver medallists Nick ROGERS and Joe GLANFIELD (GBR) are up to #2, with bronze medal winners Nicolas CHARBONNIER and Olivier BAUSSET gaining three places to #4. Women’s 470 gold medallists Elise RECHICHI and Tessa PARKINSON (AUS) climb two places to #6. Silver medallists Marcelien DE KONING and Lobke BERKHOUT also gain two places to #4, whilst bronze medallists Fernanda OLIVEIRA and Isabel SWAN (BRA) make a three place gain to #17. However the big climbers are the Spanish duo Natalia VIA-DUFRESNE and Laia TUTZO, who make up 14 places to #14, and the Slovenians Vesna DEKLEVA and Klara MAUCEC who jump from #37 to #22.

Amongst the windsurfers, Men’s RS:X gold medallist Tom ASHLEY (NZL) climbs five places to #4, with silver medallist Julien BONTEMPS (FRA) just ahead of him after gaining two places up to #2. China’s first-ever Olympic gold medallist in sailing Jian YIN is the big mover in the Women’s RS:X Rankings, climbing up from #25 to #16. Silver medallist Alessandra SENSINI (ITA) moves up five places to #6.

In the Laser fleet, Vasilij ZBOGAR (SLO) moves up from #13 to #6 after adding an Olympic silver medal to the bronze he won in Athens four years ago. Beijing bronze medallist Diego ROMERO (ITA) climbs 10 places up to #9. The Olympic silver medallist, Gintare VOLUNGEVICIUTE (LTU), is also the big mover in the Laser Radial Rankings. VOLUNGEVICIUTE gains five places up to her best-ever Ranking of #4. Swiss star Nathalie BRUGGER also earns a career-best ranking as she climbs eight places up to #10.

In the Star Rankings, Olympic Champions Iain PERCY and Andrew SIMPSON (GBR) only gain one place up to #11, with their World Ranking still hampered by their 52nd place finish at this year’s Star Worlds. Robert SCHEIDT and Bruno PRADA (BRA) move up four places to #2 after winning Olympic silver. In the Yngling Rankings, Olympic bronze medallists Sofia BEKATOROU, Sofia PAPADOPOULOU and Virginia KRAVARIOTI (GRE) are the highest of two new entries into the top top at #7.

The world top three are unchanged in the 49er and Tornado Rankings, although the Olympic bronze medallists in both events make significant gains. German 49er crew Jan-Peter PECKOLT and Hannes PECKOLT gain three places up to #4, whilst Argentina’s Tornado team of Santiago LANGE and Carlos ESPINOLA climb up from #18 to #11.

World Ranking Leaders - 3 September 2008

Heavyweight Dinghy - Finn
Jonas HOEGH-CHRISTENSEN (DEN)

Women's One Person Dinghy - Laser Radial
Anna TUNNICLIFFE (USA)

Men's One Person Dinghy - Laser
Paul GOODISON (GBR)

Men's Two Person Dinghy - 470
Nathan WILMOT and Malcolm PAGE (AUS)

Women's Two Person Dinghy - 470
Giulia CONTI and Giovanna MICOL (ITA)

Skiff - 49er
Iker MARTINEZ and Xabier FERNANDEZ (ESP)

Men's Keelboat - Star
Mateusz KUSZNIEREWICZ and Dominik ZYCKI (POL)

Women's Keelboat - Yngling
Sarah AYTON, Sarah WEBB and Pippa WILSON (GBR)

Multihull - Tornado
Darren BUNDOCK and Glenn ASHBY (AUS)

Men's Windsurfer - RS:X
Przemyslaw MIARCZYNSKI (POL)

Women's Windsurfer - RS:X
Marina ALABAU (ESP)

The next release of the ISAF World Sailing Rankings will next be on 15 October 2008.

Visit the ISAF World Sailing Rankings homepage at www.sailing.org/rankings for more on the latest Ranking release.

New Events Included

Results from the following events have been newly included in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings since their last release on 28 May 2008.

Class Event (Grade)
Tornado Travemunder Woche (3); 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition (W)
Star Rostige Janne Regatta (3); 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition (W)
Laser Gdynia Sailing Day’s (3); Laser Europa Cup – Germany (3); Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship (2); Laser Atlantic Coast Championship (1); European Laser Standard & Laser Radial Championship (C1); Laser & Laser Radial Canadian Championship’s (2); Laser North American Championship (1); Laser European Standard & Laser Radial Youth Championships (1); Laser Pacific Coast Championships (2); Laser Europa Cup – Poland (3); Laser US Championships (2); 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition (W); Cork Regatta (1); International Istanbul Sailing Week (3)
Finn Warnemunder Woche (3); Finn Eastern Championship (3); Travemunder Woche (3); 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition (W)
Laser Radial Laser Europa Cup – Germany (3); Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship (2); European Laser Standard & Laser Radial Championship (C1); Laser & Laser Radial Canadian Championship’s (2); Laser European Standard & Laser Radial Youth Championships (1); Laser Pacific Coast Championships (2); Laser US Championships (2); 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition (W); Cork Regatta (1)
49er Travemunder Woche (3); 2