Day three – Saturday – Mathis Ghio and Nia Suardiaz Race to the Top
It was a slow start for day three of competition in Rhodes, Greece, but the pace picked up very quickly once the trusted winds kicked in at around 3pm, just as the locals had predicted. We completed one more full elimination for the men and two more for the women.
WOMEN’S ELIMINATIONS
Elimination 8
Paula Novotna went flying through the course with a great advantage to start this third day of racing. Nia Suardiaz had a more complicated start, and was sitting in third place right until the final moments of the race where she managed to overtake Mathilde Lovadina who had been holding on to the second position.
Elimination 9
Nia made a flying start for elimination 9, and this time she managed to stay ahead of Paula throughout the entire course. Paula had her hopes set on yet another win, but Nia had clicked into top gear and there was no stopping her. She cleared the finish line in first place, followed by Novotna and Mathilde Lovadina in third.
On the women’s side, there are now two discards in play. Nia has the lead for now, but it is still a tight race where anything could happen.
WOMEN’S CURRENT STANDINGS AFTER NINE ELIMINATIONS:
1st Nia Suardiaz (ESP)
2nd Paula Novotna (CZE)
3rd Kylie Belloeuvre (FRA)
MEN’S ELIMINATIONS
Elimination 4
It was a disastrous start for Francesco Cappuzzo who went down at the first mark in the final of Elimination 4. Mathis Ghio however maintained an excellent pace and held on to his lead throughout the race, repeating his strong performance from yesterday. He put a safe distance between himself and the rest of the pack, and cruised through in first place. In second was Bastien Escofet followed by Luca Franchi.
With the fourth elimination now complete, the first men’s discard came into play. This switched things around in the overall rankings, meaning Mathis Ghio has now boosted himself up into first position.
Bastien Escofet relinquished his lead when the men’s first discard counted, but could he regain top step when it really matters on the fourth and final day of competition?
MEN’S CURRENT STANDINGS AFTER FOUR ELIMINATIONS:
1st Mathis Ghio (FRA)
2nd Bastien Escofet (FRA)
3rd Francesco Cappuzzo (ITA)
4th Riccardo Zorzi (ITA)
U16 / U19 / MASTERS
We also ran one full elimination on Saturday for the U16/U19 and Masters categories. The overall results after four eliminations are:
U16
1st Xavier Corr (ESP)
2nd Axel Gerard (FRA)
3rd Bobo Gallagher (USA)
U19
1st Riccardo Zorzi (ITA)
2nd Luca Franchi (ITA)
3rd Petros Kontarinis (GRC)
MASTERS
1st Benjamin Billarant
2nd Giorgios Tampuris
3rd Pawel Bielinski
Sunday is the final day of racing here in Rhodes, Greece. Let’s see if the wind allows us to complete a few more eliminations and enjoy one last day of racing action.
GWA WINGFOIL WORLD TOUR
Report: Gemma Hamaini
Photos: John Markantonis / Andromedas Sfakianou
