The II Lanzarote International Regatta already has names and surnames, and these are Diego Botín and Florian Trittel who achieved victory for Spain in the 49er; Kahena Kunze and Martine Grael for Brazil at 49erFX and Hermann Tomasgaard for Norway at ILCA 7.
From the Canary Islands, María Cantero achieved sixth place in 49erFX, Andrés Barrio seventh place in 49er and Joel Rodríguez ninth place in ILCA 7.
The final of the second edition of the Lanzarote International Regatta begins with the deployment of the 49er fleet, going out to a regatta field with almost no wave that seemed to bow to them, with winds blowing between 14 and 18 knots. After three regattas with the beaches of Papagayo as a backdrop, the Spanish flag stood out in the men’s fleet. This flag is shared by the Cantabrian Diego Botín and the Catalan Florian Trittel, who compete together for the first time in the Canary Islands, making their debut with this victory in Lanzarote, although both also won with their former partners a year ago on the island. “We are making our debut as a team and we have achieved the result, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us, this has only just begun towards Paris 2024”, declared the Catalan sailor. In the words of his partner, “we chose Lanzarote to prepare for Tokyo 2020, and it was a great discovery, it is an incredible place to train in winter”, added Botín.
The second place on the podium was recovered by the German couple formed by Jakob Meggendorfer and Andreas Spranger, after losing it to the Canarian based in Mallorca, Elías Aretz, and his Mallorcan partner, Albert Torres, who compete for the Real Club Náutico de Palma. The Spanish duo has lost positions in these recent regattas, but has managed to stay in the top 10. “A pleasure to sail in the Canary Islands, a luxury to sail with heat and wind, and with the best teams in the world”, commented the Canarian sailor. For his partner, “we are happy and eager to work and improve,” said Torres. For the Germans, “Lanzarote is an incredible location, although the competition was tough”.
Of the regattas held this Saturday, the Spanish flag, hoisted in Canarian style, also stood out. He is Andrés Barrio, a sailor from the Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria, who competes with Antonio Torrado from Alicante, who have achieved a seventh place, after giving a show with a third place in the first regatta and a second place in the following regatta. “Competing in the Canary Islands, my home, is a privilege, but it also helps to measure ourselves against all the sailors”, said the sailor from Gran Canaria. The favorite local couple congratulates the regatta committee, since the conditions have been very complicated, but they have gotten quite a few sleeves. “It has been a very complete regatta with a high level, very important for the season”, assured the Valencian sailor, who affirms that he feels “at home in this marvelous place”.
From the 49erFX regatta field, the Brazilians Kahena Kunze and Martine Grael emerge victorious, invincible after their first victory in the first regatta, 3 victories in total of the 10 races carried out, in addition to a fourth place in the medal race. Although the Finns, Ronja Grönblom and Veera Hokka, have followed them closely, even achieving second place in the medal race and in the general classification. Third place went to Norway, represented by Helene NÆSS and Marie RØNNINGEN. “Lanzarote is a very special place for us, we were there last year during the pandemic and we have done very good training in this paradise,” Kunze stressed. For Marine Grael, “these regattas are very good for putting training into practice”.
Representing Spain, the Canarian María Cantero and the Galician Patricia Suárez have fought to stay in the top 10, signing a sixth place after the medal race. “We are very happy to have been able to spend the winter season here in Lanzarote and that the regatta continues to be held every year, today we had off-shore wind conditions, very gusty and unstable, being able to look outside was the key to the regatta”, explained the sailor from Gran Canaria.
Apart from the Spanish dominance in the 49er regatta field and the Brazilian leadership among the 49erFX, it has finally been the Norwegian Hermann Tomasgaard who is proclaimed champion of the ILCA 7. “It has been very nice to train and compete here in Lanzarote, a incredible weather with good wind conditions, although there may or may not be big waves, you train against anything”. After the Norwegian sailor, Nik Aaron Willim (Germany) gets the silver medal, followed by the British Michael Beckett. On behalf of the Spanish team of this class, it was finally the Canarian sailor who classified in the top 10 after achieving sixth place in the last regatta, but a 14th place in the medal race left him in ninth place in the general classification. . “Very good championship for to guide the preparation of this new season, with different conditions and very good regattas, with a very competitive fleet, is perfect to start the year, I am going with a ninth overall, which is not bad, but the result is the least of it”, concluded the Canarian sailor.
