Sandefjord, Norway – August 11, 2024
After a week of high-intensity racing at the 2024 International WASZP Games, Danish sailor Magnus Overbeck of the KDY club emerged victorious, clinching the title by two points ahead of Norway’s Markus Berthet. In a reversal of last year’s WASZP European Championships, where Berthet claimed the win, the 2024 title race once again went down to the wire.
With strong winds of up to 25 knots sweeping the final day, only two races could be completed, setting the stage for a nail-biting finish. Overbeck, reflecting on the event, said, “I couldn’t sleep last night, running through every scenario in my head. I managed to get some points on him in the first race of the day, but then he (Berthet) goes out and wins the second one. Once the racing was called off, I needed confirmation; I simply couldn’t believe it.”
In the women’s division, Hedvig Doksrod found the going a bit tougher in the breezier conditions after dominating the fleet in the lighter winds. Both Marie Butler Wang and Nora Doksrod were able to claim valuable points, but it wasn’t enough to take the win off Hedvig. It was a brilliant regatta for the women’s fleet with super tight racing and 9 women making Gold Fleet for the first time. There is no doubt the windier conditions at the back end of the event pushed Hedvig back in the overall standings after claiming 5 top 10 placings in qualifying.
The 6.9m fleet racing in their own division and starting by themselves for the first time ever had a competitive fleet of 25 racing, showing the up-and-coming strength of this class. A Francesco Carrieri masterclass saw the young Italian champ win all but three of the races. Rounding out the podium were the Gieger siblings, Tommaso and Rebecca from Italy, seeing off a strong challenge from GBR sailor Ben Anderson. In the women’s, Rebecca Gieger took the win from countrywoman Olvia Castaldi and GBR sailor Alice Senior.
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