ABU DHABI // It was a good day for sailors from France and Australia on Sunday as two gold medals each went their way from the 10 that were up for grabs in the ISAF Sailing World Cup Finals at the Breakwater in the Corniche.
Billy Besson at the helm and crew Marie Riou led a French medal sweep of the Nacra 17, and Louis Giard won the RS:X Men to complete the double gold for France.
Tom Burton led all the way to win the Laser Men for Australia. In the 470 Men Mathew Belcher and William Ryan replicated their compatriot’s feat to notch Australia’s second gold.
Burton rounded off a standout season by adding ISAF Sailing World Cup Final gold to his victories in the race series at Mallorca and Hyeres, and he said it was the icing on the cake for him to add to a family celebration.
“I came here with a plan to win,” he said. “It was my sister’s wedding yesterday so it’s nice to win for her.
“I thought I sailed well here and it’s nice to finish the year with a win.”
The remaining six gold medals were shared by the sailors from six different countries: Austria, Poland, New Zealand, Slovenia, Belgium and Great Britain.
Bryony Shaw sailed flawlessly throughout the four days to take the RS:X Women’s gold title.
The Briton did not make a mistake throughout the series and took a 16-point lead into the medal race.
“I am really pleased that I’ve had such a convincing win here,” said the Beijing 2008 Olympic bronze medallist. “It’s been a tough year in that I keep missing out on the podiums.
“I managed to win in Miami back in the beginning of the year. This being the end of the year it’s nice to be back on top of the podium and I hope I can take that momentum into next year.”
Alex Maloney and Molly Meech from New Zealand rounded off an excellent week by claiming the 49erFX Women competition.
Austria’s Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar hung to their overnight lead to take gold despite a final challenge from Great Britain’s Sophie Weguelin and Eilidh McIntyre in the 470 Women.
Vadlau, the 2014 winner of both the world and the European championships, said she and Ogar had to dig deep to hold off their rivals in changing winds and weather conditions.
“It was so tough, so shifty and so gusty. It was really tricky and even if you were last you were able to climb up,” she said.
“We were pretty good in the first two rounds. On the last downwind there was a gust so it was wide open again.
“Everyone caught up and we had to keep cool and my head was burning. Somehow we managed it.
“It was incredibly hard.
“Anything was possible but it’s nice to win. We had such an unbelievable season, the best one ever.”
apassela@thenational.ae
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