iQFoil Youth and Junior International Games in Torbole - Day 4
by Elena Giolai 3 Aug 11:12 PDT
31 July - 4 August 2022
iQFoil Youth and Junior International Games in Torbole - Day 4 © Elena Giolai
The fourth day of racing at the very demanding IQFoil Youth & Junior International Games in Torbole, on Garda Trentino, before the final scheduled for Thursday with the top ten in each category admitted to the medal series.
The event, organised by the Circolo Surf Torbole in collaboration with the Italian Sailing Federation and the International Class, registered a very high participation numerically, but also very solid from a technical point of view, considering that many of the athletes present took part in the youth world championship held in Holland a couple of weeks ago.
The regatta was therefore very reliable from a competitive point of view, in view of the iQFoil Youth and Junior World Championships in Silvaplana, scheduled for the end of August.
Today's racing started in the early morning (first race around 8:00am) with the under-17 fleet engaged in two course races, sailed in a northerly wind. This was followed by the under-19 youths, who managed to finish only one course race with a stick course, chosen to be able to race regularly with the wind blowing mainly in the central part of the lake after 9am.
In the early afternoon, as scheduled, it was the turn of the marathon race for all categories, on a course of around 8 and a half miles, completed in over 40 minutes. It was a test of endurance, which saw the two Italians and Circolo Surf Torbole athletes Manolo Modena and Sofia Renna win in the under-19 category, confirming the leadership they had held from the start and above all demonstrating speed and regularity on the course, often with good recoveries.
Among the younger under-17s, the Croatian Ian Anic won by surprise, but the Frenchman Tom Nicolle, with a second place, entered the medal series in first place and therefore directly into the final. Among the girls, victory went to Spain's Caterina Tomas Cardell, who by a single point advanced to the final in first place ahead of Italy's Francesca Maria Salerno (Lauria, Palermo).
Medal series
The fleets went into the medal series with Italy having a say in many categories: among the top 10 in the Youth under 19 category, four are Italian with Manolo Modena in the final being first and Jacopo Gavioli (Circolo Surf Torbole), Federico Alan Pilloni (Windsurfing Club Cagliari) and Leonardo Tomasini (Circolo Surf Torbole) competing in the quarter finals (from fourth to tenth in the overall ranking) to attempt an assault on the semifinals and finals. In the semifinals the two Britons Dixon Charlie and Duncan Monaghan, respectively second and third after the 13 qualifying races, with the marathon being worth double.
Among the under-19 youth girls, Italy also had two athletes in the finals: Sofia Renna directly into the final being first and Lazio's Carola Colasanto in the quarter-finals (eighth in qualifying). The Czech Republic entered the medal series with the most athletes, three, with Pinosova, Altmannova and Sadílková.
The men's under-17 fleet is the most homogeneous with nine different nations in the top ten, with Spain doubling. Frenchman Tom Nicolle was clearly first and in the final; the Circolo Surf Torbole athlete Mattia Saoncella, the first under-15, also qualified for the medal series (seventh). Among the under-17 girls, the Spanish Caterina Tomas Cardell won the qualifying round, ahead of a very fierce Francesca Maria Salerno (Lauria Palermo).
The medal series are scheduled for Thursday 4 August for the under-17s from 8:00 am, and for the under-19s from 12:30 pm.
Complete standings here...