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Forum Index: DISCUSSION: Event Reports: Optimist World Championship 2009

The Publisher ***** Aug 9, 2009, 1:48 PM Post #1 of 5 (3513 views) Shortcut Optimist World Championship 2009 Log-In to Post/Reply Optimist World Championship 2009 Niterói, Brasil August 8, 2009 WILLIFORD WELL PLACED AT OPTIMIST WORLDS After 5 of the scheduled 15 races at the Optimist Worlds in Niterói, Brasil, Christopher Williford (Fort Lauderdale, FL) is well placed in 5th position. Scoring 4/23/9/2/2 so far, a few good results and discarding that 23 after race 6 could see him challenging for the medals. Winds to date have been light and Malaysia has had by far the best results so far, leading the event and with four sailors in the top 12. The top North American by residence is Antoine Lefort of Guadeloupe sailing for France currently in 2nd. but otherwise the next best placed is Hector Guzman (MEX) in 20th. Christopher is the reigning North American champion but recently lost his USA National title. Perhaps surprisingly the USA has not won a medal at the Optimist Worlds since 1970, though US citizens from Puerto Rico and USVI took gold and silver last year. Otherwise the best result was later Olympian Mark Mendelblatt who twice came 4th. Just maybe Christopher can break the mould. 211 sailors from 47 countries are contesting the event. Following racing on Friday and Saturday, fleet racing will resume on Tuesday or Wednesday following the World Team Racing Championship and a possible spare day. Results: http://www.cncharitas.com.br/results_opt.html

The Publisher ***** Aug 10, 2009, 4:10 PM Post #2 of 5 (3505 views) Shortcut Re: [The Publisher] Optimist World Championship 2009 [In reply to] Log-In to Post/Reply USA SEEDED 6TH FOR OPTIMIST TEAM-RACING Niterói, Brasil (August 10, 2009) - After day one of the Optimist World Team Racing Championship, the USA was the only North American team from the original 40 national teams to make the cut and is seeded 6th out of 16 for the second round. It may prove difficult to improve on that ranking. Unlike several teams, for example Singapore, the USA team has little chance to train together due to the geographical origins of the sailors: Esteban Forrer - San Diego, CA Max Simmons - Norwalk, CT Axel Sly - Coral Reef, FL Holly Tullo - Staten Island, NY Christopher Williford - Fort Lauderdale,FL Such geography means that the most successful U.S. teams internationally tend to be state or regional. Team Florida won this year’s prestigious 9-nation Trofeo Rizzotti in Italy and U.S. national team champions “West Side” (California) are entered for the Berlin Cup in October. Strong winds on Monday have delayed completion of the team event. Fleet racing is to commence again on Wednesday; results to date are available at: http://www.cncharitas.com.br/results_opt.html

The Publisher ***** Aug 14, 2009, 9:08 AM Post #3 of 5 (3479 views) Shortcut Re: [The Publisher] Optimist World Championship 2009 [In reply to] Log-In to Post/Reply * Niterói, Brasil (August 11, 2009) - The Optimist World Championship concluded the team racing segment, with China beating Peru in the finals. The U.S team advanced to the fourth round of the double-elimination format, but were ultimately beaten by both finalists. Fleet racing re-starts Wednesday with three days left to try for the remaining 10 scheduled races. -- Team race results: http://www.cncharitas.com.br/fotos/results_aug_10th.jpg

The Publisher ***** Aug 14, 2009, 9:10 AM Post #4 of 5 (3478 views) Shortcut Re: [The Publisher] Optimist World Championship 2009 [In reply to] Log-In to Post/Reply OPTIMIST INDIVIDUAL WORLDS Fleet racing resumed in Buzios after the three days devoted to team-racing and a further three races were completed. After 8 of the proposed 15 races the new leader is Noppakao Poonpat of Thailand. Her superb 4/1/1 for the day took her 2 net points clear of the two Malaysians who had led so far and new challenger Ignacio Rogala (ARG). Top ranked USA sailor Christopher Williford suffered an OCS in Race 8 and dropped to 12th. In general the light shifty conditions so far seem to favour the top Asian sailors who now occupy six of the top ten places. But it is noteworthy that Noppakao also did well (24th) in the generally far windier conditions in Turkey last year. Thailand has been competing in the Optimist Worlds for at least thirty years but has never had a sailor in the top ten. But in the Optimist medallists can come from unexpected countries (see www.optiworld.org/resultsHistoryWorlds.php). There has been a girl on the podium in three of the past four years: Tina Lutz (GER), won the 2005 Worlds since when Griselda Khng (SIN) and Alexandra Maloney (NZL) have taken silver and bronze respectively. But with 2.1/2 days racing left there could still be a full 15 race schedule and a lot to play for. The second discard is taken after Race 12 which may be of special benefit to Sinclair Jones (PER) currently in 5th.

The Publisher ***** Aug 16, 2009, 5:09 PM Post #5 of 5 (3425 views) Shortcut Re: [The Publisher] Optimist World Championship 2009 [In reply to] Log-In to Post/Reply * (Niterói, Brasil) - Competing amongst 211 sailors from 47 countries, Sinclair Jones from Peru has become the 2009 Optimist World Champion. The twelfth and final race allowed for a second throw out, but Jones quieted the competitors by smoothly staying in the top ten for the final 5 races to take the lead for good. The top North American was Christopher Williford (USA) in 16th, who had started the event strong but stumbled with two OCS scores in the second half. -- Results: http://www.cncharitas.com.br/boletins/ACUMULADO_8142009_4-43-12_PM.HTM - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt

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