O'Pen Bic World Championship at Circolo Vela Arco - Day 2
by Leonardo Omezzolli 2 Aug 2017 14:12 PDT
31 July - 5 August 2017
The duel between Italy and New Zealand continues, but France, Spain, Australia and Denmark are coming closer to the top of the ranking. Thanks to the constant Ora wind which, with its 13/14 knots, pushed the 187 athletes through the adrenaline-filled challenge for the title of O'Pen Bic World Champion 2017.
New Zealand excelled today both in the U13 category and in the U17 with two unchallenged first placings, even though in the U17 category Giorgio Bona - born in Arco itself - is very close to the top. There is a sizeable Italian presence in the top half of both rankings.
The visiting nations, though represented by fewer athletes, shouldn't be underplayed and are getting closer to the podium. In the U13 category the Spanish sailor Pol Font Reyero and the Australian (first amongst the girls) Jenna Everett placed themselves right behind Russell Coutts' heir, Mathias Coutts. The fourth, fifth and sixth positions went respectively to the Italians Zeno Valerio Marchesini (Fraglia Vela Malcesine), Giorgia Bonalana (Circolo Vela Torbole) and Giovanni Santi (Cvg).
Among the older athletes of the U17 category, the Southern hemisphere dominated the rankings, with Sean Herbert in first position and the Australian (first amongst the young women) Kristen Wadley ranking third. Second place was taken by the Italian Giorgio Bona, a member of Circolo Vela Arco. The French sailor Jules Poupin, the Japanese Lisa Nukui and the Danish Lennart Frohmann hold the rest of the places close to the podium.
The World Championship is progressing speedily and without a hitch thanks to the impeccable organization of Circolo Vela Arco, supported by Federazione Italiana Vela (Fiv), World Sailing and by many other sponsors. This World Championship represents an important step forward for the O'Pen Bic class, which has been gathering more and more success and international acknowledgement in the last few years.
More information and full results can be found at worlds2017.openbicclass.org