On Monday, the 29er European Championships held as part of the 25th Gdynia Sailing Days concluded. The event featured 138 teams from 25 countries. The Polish teams dominated the championship, winning four out of six gold medals.
From Wednesday, three races were held each day with fantastic wind, shifty and challenging conditions testing the sailors from around the world.On the final day, Monday 8th July – the wind was too light and no races were held, meaning the Polish teams could enjoy celebrating their successes across the fleet.
The Polish team of Ewa Lewandowska and Krzysztof Królik became European champions in the mixed category and Overall winners of the Championship. Bartosz ?mudzi?ski and August Sobczak took first place in both the Men’s and Men’s U-17 categories, while Alicja Tutkowska and Alicja Dampc triumphed in the Women’s category.
The Czech team of Karolina Lojkova and Petr Pelnar won the U-17 mixed category, while the German team of Adele Heubner and Katharina Fricke won the U-17 Women’s category.
British sailors Finian Morris and Charlie Gran earned the title of European vice-champions in the Men’s category and third place overall. Their compatriots James Crossley and Sam Webb completed the top three Men.
“We are quite satisfied with our position, especially considering the changing and difficult conditions we faced here. The competition was really high-level, and we gave it our all. With this in mind, we leave Gdynia happy,” said Finian Morris and Charlie Gran.
The Swedish team of Esther Lagerstrand and Melker Bondjers took second in the mixed category, with their compatriots Selma Hard and Lukas Wolfgang placing third.
In the Men’s. U-17 category, the French team of Alexandre Mostini and Raphael Allain took second place, while the German team of Lucas and Moritz Hamm finished third. British sailors Annabelle Vines and Amelie Hiscocks won the silver medal in the women’s category, with Finnish sailors Una Heinila and Silja-Sophie Laukkanen taking third place. In the mixed category, the French team of Clemence Favrel and Ferdinand Guillemot took second place, ahead of the Polish team of Aniela Fr?ckowiak and Igor Piechota.
The 29er European Championships took place with great atmosphere and conditions. The high performance International 29er Class is highly regarded as an important stepping stone towards Olympic sailing, with World Class racing on the water and a strong community on the shore. The race teams managed to complete 15 out of the 18 scheduled races, with Race officers from GBR, POL, TUN, GER, NOR and CZE with members attending from the EuroSaf scheme. The competition was fierce and the stakes were high, just as it should be – and the fleet now advance to the prestigious World Sailing Youth Worlds in Lake Garda next week and then onto The 29er World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark which will be the largest World Championships on record for the International 29er Fleet with 248 entries so far.
