Drosdovskaya and Tunnicliffe win first women's races

The Women's two flights have both completed their first races of the championships, the Men's Yellow flight have also finished one race.

China’s Olympic bronze medallist Lijia (Lucy) Xu is recovering after a health problem and will be only racing one race each day at these Laser Radial World Championships.
She made her first race in Scotland count when she finished second behind Belarus’ 2007 World Champion Tatiana Drozdovskaya in the women’s Yellow flight. The Belarus sailor, who won the world title in Cascais when she held off Sari Multala (FIN) by just one metre in the final race, lead from the first windward mark. Xu regained second place on the second downwind leg.
“The race was good. The winds are good, not too strong, not too light, just great for racing. I did not have very good upwind speed but I sailed pretty well. I made the best course, going left after starting at the pin end. Most of the boats were gathered at the committee boat and so I had good, clear air. I just sailed my own course and rounded in the top three. The Belarus girl was ahead and it was very close behind me. There was a Spanish girl and American girl passed me on the second upwind but I go them back when I sailed a pretty good second downwind leg. I overtook three boats, the Canadian, American and Spanish.”  Xu reported when she returned to the regatta site.

In the first race the wind was around 170-180 degrees but as the front passed through early afternoon the wind has shifted round as forecast to about 270-280 degrees which has required the courses to be re-laid. Racing is down to the north of Great Cumbrae.

The provisional top five from that fleet was  1, BLR 192681 Tatiana Drosdovskaya, 2 CHN 177117  Xu Lijia, 3 USA 197111  Paige Railey. 4 FIN  196655   Sari Multala, 5 CAN 182730 Lisa Ross.

In the Women’s Blue fleet Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) the Olympic gold medallist won the first race from Holland’s Marit Bouwmeester, world ranked 2, with Australia’s Ashley Stoddart in third. Best British result in this fleet is 2004 ISAF Youth Worlds bronze medallist Ali Young who finished sixth, while Scotland’s Charlotte Dobson opened with a 21st.
•    All results mentioned are preliminary and subject to protest.

9/7/2010 15:44