39th Lake Garda Meeting Optimist - Overall

Alex Demurtas wins the 39th Lake Garda Meeting Optimist © Fraglia Vela Riva / Zerogradinord

Alex Demurtas wins, Artur Brighenti top amongst the Cadets

This year, the trophy of the Garda Optimist Meeting remains at Fraglia Vela Riva. The winner of the 39th edition, just concluded in the waters of Riva del Garda, is the local sailor Alex Demurtas, who follows in the golden books the teammate Lorenzo Ghirotti, winner in 2020.

Two races were completed on Sunday, day of the finals. The battle immediately lit up in the Gold fleet, where Quan Adriano Cardi from LN Ostia, in complete control of the ranking durimng the first two days of racing, was fighting for the title of winner of the 39th Meeting of the Garda Optimist with the aforementioned Alex Demurtas, who at the end of yesterday's races had managed to take the leader from the Rome sailor.

Today's first race had slightly changed the balance of the standings, with Cardi third on the finish line and Demurtas ninth. The real upheaval took place in the ninth and final round of the series, where Demurtas was able to perfectly read the variations of the wind, ensuring his success. A heavy result instead for Cardi who, seventy-seventh on the finish line, saw his scoreline grow, closes the event in second place, 19 points behind Demurtas.

The rest of the top-five, in the Juniors division, is international, demonstrating the high level of the fleet that arrived in Riva del Garda from 22 countries. Bronze medal for the Spanish sailor Xavier Garcia Ollè, fourth place for Erik Sheidt, flag bearer from Lithuania, and fifth for the Ukrainian Dmytro Karabadzhak. The Spanish sailor Nicola Sadler is the first female, finishing in twelfth overall.

There was also a battle between the very young Cadets, who today completed only one race: Artur Brighenti of Circolo Nautico Brenzone won the 39th Meeting of the Garda Optimist with a net score of 9 points, 8 points ahead of Irene Faini from Fraglia Vela Malcesine, second overall and first female. Third place went to Jesper Karlsen of Toscolano Maderno Sailing Club, fourth was Andrea Demurtas, brother of the Juniors winner, and fifth for Adam Brighenti, also from Brenzone Nautical Club.

The curtain has fallen on a successful edition of the Garda Meeting: now, the organizational machine of the Fraglia Vela Riva turns its gaze to the flagship event of the 2021 Optimist calendar, the World Championship that will be held in Riva del Garda from 30 June to 10 July 2021.

The complete rankings can be found here...