ISAF World Match Race Rankings

by ISAF Media on 11 Jul 2009 It remains all France at the top of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings released 8 July, with Mathieu Richard replacing team mate Seb Col at the top of the Open Rankings and Claire Leroy still #1 amongst the Women, although Australia’s Katie Spithill is rising fast.

Mathieu Richard's (FRA) recent success on the World Tour, with a second-place finish at Match Cup Sweden following a fourth at the Portugal Match Cup, propels him back into the World #1 spot he occupied for much of last year.

In the Women's Rankings Claire Leroy FRA) will go to Lysekil later this month as the world #1 skipper in search of third consecutive ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship.







Open Rankings

Mathieu Richard(FRA) is back at the top of the World Rankings, displacing his team mate Sébastien Col FRA), whose shaky start to the World Tour season sees him tumble back to #5 in this Ranking release.

Moving up to #2 behind RICHARD is Ian Williams (GBR), the 2007 and 2008 ISAF Match Racing World Champion, followed by Kiwi young gun Adam Minoprio (NZL).

Another rising star Torvar Mirsky (AUS) moves up to #4 after scoring his first World Tour win at the recent Portugal Match Cup.

At the opposite end of the experience-spectrum is four-time World Champion Peter Gilmour (AUS).

The Australian skipper showed he still has plenty he can teach the new generation of match racing stars as he claimed his seventh Match Cup Sweden title last week, a win which propels him up a massive 38 places to #7 in this Ranking release.









Women’s Rankings

Less than three weeks remain to the 2009 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship in Lysekil, Sweden where current world #1 Claire Leroy (FRA) will defend the title she has won for the past two years running. However this year the challenge looks tougher than ever for the French skipper, particularly from the Australians and the home Swedish skippers.

Katie Spithill (AUS) is without doubt the form sailor on the circuit. Back-to-back wins at the ISAF Sailing World Cup event at Kieler Woche and then, perhaps even more significantly, on Swedish waters at the Women's Match Cup Sweden, lift the Australian up from seventh to a career-best world #2 ranking.

Team mate Nicole Souter (AUS) also climbs up four places from #12 to #8 after finishing as runner up at Kiel. Both skippers are sure to be gunning for Leroy’s crown when the World title battle comes around in Lysekil from 27 July to 1 August.

Also looking set to mount a strong challenge are the Swedish trio of Linda Rahm (SWE), Anna Kjellberg (SWE) and Marie Bjorling (SWE). Rahm is yet to find her top form this season and drops two places to #4 in this Ranking release, but she's well experienced sailing in Lysekil.

In contract Kjellberg has gone from strength-to-strength this season, following on from her break-through year in 2008. She has an excellent record at Lysekil and took Spithill to a fifth-match decider in the final at Match Cup Sweden.

Multiple World Championship medallist, Bjorling is also showing signs of her top form. After a two-year break from the circuit, the former world #1 skipper scored an impressive win at the recent ISAF Grade 1 Troia Portugal Women Cup, consequently moving up the rankings from #101 to #43.






The next release of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings will be on 5 August 2009.

ISAF World Match Race Rankings - www.sailing.org/mrrankings
Match racing - Open - Wednesday 8 July 2009

1 RICHARD Mathieu FRA 8 2 1 11710
2 WILLIAMS Ian GBR 8 3 1 11677
3 MINOPRIO Adam NZL 8 5 3 11653
4 MIRSKY Torvar AUS 8 4 4 11567
5 COL Sébastien FRA 8 1 1 11518
6 IEHL Damien FRA 8 8 5 11128
7 GILMOUR Peter AUS 8 45 1 10900
8 PRESTI Philippe FRA 8 6 5 10573
9 CIAN Paolo ITA 8 11 2 10473
10 BERNTSSON Johnie SWE 8 7 7 10173
11 HANSEN Bjorn SWE 8 9 4 10034
12 EBLER Mads DEN 8 12 10 9327
13 AINSLIE Ian RSA 8 10 10 9199
14 WIBROE Peter DEN 8 17 8 9171
15 OREL Jure SLO 8 13 13 9083
16 AINSLIE Ben GBR 7 41 16 8826
17 ARBUZOV Andrew RUS 8 14 11 8759
18 MARINHO Álvaro POR 8 21 18 8757
19 NEUGODNIKOV Eugeniy RUS 8 15 5 8641
20 MORVAN Pierre-antoine FRA 8 16 7 8626
21 RAHM Mattias SWE 8 20 10 8511
22 HOLMBERG Magnus SWE 8 18 1 8368
23 LINDBERG Staffan FIN 8 19 5 8221
24 SWINTON Keith AUS 8 24 21 8120
25 LITTOZ BARITEL Alexis FRA 8 31 22 8104



Match racing - Women - Wednesday 8 July 2009

1 LEROY Claire FRA 8 1 1 11636
2 SPITHILL Katie AUS 8 7 2 11219

3 MACGREGOR Lucy GBR 8 3 3 10844

4 RAHM Linda SWE 8 2 2 10625
5 MELDGAARD PEDERSEN Lotte DEN 8 5 1 9843

6 HAHLBROCK Silke GER 8 6 2 9630
7 BARKOW Sally USA 8 4 3 8775
8 SOUTER Nicole AUS 8 12 5 8715

9 BOSSARD Julie FRA 8 11 9 8709

10 KJELLBERG Anna SWE 8 10 10 8528
11 BAYLIS Elizabeth USA 8 9 2 8442
12 GURIOLI Sabrina ITA 8 8 6 8363
13 ULRIKKEHOLM Camilla DEN 8 13 12 7683
14 LE BERRE Anne-claire FRA 5 16 9 7379

15 LEHTINEN Silja FIN 7 20 4 6858
16 AXHEDE Jenny SWE 8 15 4 6604
17 HAGSTROM Karin SWE 8 22 17 6398
18 GONçALVES Rita POR 8 19 18 6378
19 PHILIPPE Christelle FRA 8 14 4 6205
20 TUNNICLIFFE Anna USA 6 17 17 6088
21 KADELBACH Kathrin GER 8 25 21 6039
22 CONTI Giulia ITA 4 18 4 5968

23 TULLOCH Genevieve USA 4 28 23 5899

24 HAYES Sandra USA 8 21 13 5675
25 LOVELL Katy USA 8 23 15 5649