Training before the Olympics. Peter took the Junior Windsurfing World Cup.

The northern capital, in particular the Yacht Club of St. Petersburg, dreams of hosting the Olympic Games. That's why the organizers took the RS:X World Cup more than responsibly. Yulia Sobornitskaya passes itBoat in St. Petersburg.

The opening ceremony was held on August 5 in St. Petersburg's 300th anniversary park. At the parade, 104 windsurfers from 19 countries of the world performed together under their national flags. The most numerous teams were represented by such countries as Russia (18 athletes), Israel (17) and France (12). Also among the participants of the championship - Turkey, Hong Kong, Belarus, Poland, Netherlands, Greece and Cyprus, UK, Spain, Italy, USA, Thailand, Japan, Philippines, Estonia and Oman.

The best young windsurfers of the world - Yana Reznikova, the silver medalist of the world championship, and Fabien Pianaza, the current world champion - raised the flags of the host country of the tournament, the general partner of the PAO Gazprom «»regatta, the organizers of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club and the RS:X class Federation.

The young windsurfers were welcomed by Vladimir Kirillov, Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg, and Vladimir Silkin, President of the All-Russian Sailing Federation.

Yelena Solovyova, Project Manager of the Yacht Club of St. Petersburg, noted that the organizers plan to hold the World Championship at the level of the Olympic Games.

This is an asset for the future: the Northern Capital dreams of hosting this major international sporting event.

RS:X International General Secretary Andrus Poksi expressed his hope that windy but sunny weather will accompany the participants all days of the World Cup. The athletes wished them victories, excellent races and bright impressions from the beautiful views of St. Petersburg.

In general, the organizers have prepared an interesting coastal program for the athletes.

The participants were welcomed and entertained by the World Championship mascot - Brown Bear, a world famous symbol of our country, who became a hero of the 1980 and 2014 Olympics. Of course, it was impossible to resist the Bear's charm, and the athletes had fun hugging and taking pictures with him.

After the gala part was over, a cover band from Pskov Drum&Jazz performed. Their different compositions (from jazz to popular music) set windsurfers on the right wave before the race.

However, the championship itself began even before the opening - with training races.

On the registration day, participants of the World Championships learned what summer is in St. Petersburg.

And this is wind up to 20 knots on gusts, 15-degree coolness and cold water (18 degrees). There's nothing you can do: in sailing competitions held in the Northern Capital, the weather is traditionally one of the main competitors. But the participants did not complain about the fate. In such not summer conditions they cheerfully glided, raced and checked the equipment before tomorrow's races.

The Frenchman Fabienne Pianaza, two-time junior world champion in windsurfing and the main favorite of this championship, was quite satisfied with the water area after the training races. After all, the main component of a good gurney - the wind - was enough. But it made no sense to draw conclusions from the results of training heats, of course, because the weather in St. Petersburg is capricious.

The main competitor of Pianaza is Italian Nicolo Renna. Last year he took third place in the world championship in the RS:X class among juniors and also won silver at the Youth Olympic Games. A few weeks ago at the Youth Sailing World Championships, Renna lost ten points to Pianaze and finished second again. In St Petersburg, the Italian will try to take revenge on the Frenchman.

Another confrontation between two main world windsurfing talents - Pianaza and Renna - is the main intrigue of the World Championship.

Russian fans are waiting for the performance of Moscow athlete Yana Reznikova.

At the last Youth Sailing World Championships she won silver, losing only to Israel's Lina Geva. In St Petersburg, both of these athletes will fight for gold again. I would like to wish that the «native walls» would help Reznikova to be the first.

«I often train in St. Petersburg, and in this respect I have an advantage over Lina, but this is not my home water area. Our fight in the world championship was very interesting, because Lina is superior to me in some respects. What can I show in St. Petersburg? I do not have a clear goal, I do not plan to take a certain place, I already made a mistake, doing so. Especially since RS:X is a new class for me. I moved to it this spring. Every competition I start with a clean slate and try to show good results. First of all, in the local water area it is most important to understand the weather, choose tactics and understand which side is profitable and which is not, -»said Yana Reznikova.

The competition will last until August 10.

Recall that RS:X was designed specifically for the Olympic Games. This class of yachts first entered the Olympic program in 2008 and has since taken a strong place in the hearts of sailing enthusiasts. It is in this class that the Russian Olympians have achieved success. At the 2016 Olympics, Stephanie Yelfutina won a bronze award.