Gold - from girls, it was taken by Moscow athlete Yana Reznikova, the best of our boys - Konstantin Kochkonyan - on 25th place. These are the results of the Junior Sailing Championships in RS:X class, which ended in St.Petersburg.
The competition was held in the water area of the Nevskaya Bay of Finland, near the 300th anniversary park of St. Petersburg, where the racing village unfolded.
The unpredictable water area
During these few days, St. Petersburg showed its unstable weather patterns. Every day the wind changed from strong to full silence. On the first day the strong wind set the mood for optimism, but on Thursday it weakened to only 2-3 knots (with a minimum of 5 knots), which prevented the organizers from holding any races. Young athletes, of course, did not get bored: they played beach volleyball and football, made new contacts, talked to friends and even sunbathe in the modest sun of St. Petersburg.
On Friday in the men's event, the guys raced in the gold and silver fleets for the first time. In the gold fleet, 35 best riders fought among themselves according to the results of qualification. Competitive struggle often led to mistakes and protests. Participants filed a total of 18 protests - the price of gold made you nervous.
«The protest activity is not accidental, because there are medal races in front of men and women. Everyone is trying to get in the top ten. Today they had the last opportunity to do it»," Sergei Kuzov, a member of the International Jury, said then.
«The number of protests can be explained by the fact that all the guys are very good. But everyone makes mistakes and thinks that he is right, and his opponent is wrong. This translates into protests»," added Israeli Daniel Tashtash.
For the start of the final races St. Petersburg has prepared another surprise for the participants of the championship: there was a wind, but weak - from 4 to 6 knots.
«The direction of the wind was unstable, from northeast and north to northwest. In order to race, we had to adjust the distance, catch the wind windows by time. For example, the girls left us only after the third start. Fortunately, the wind increased in strength, and we had three races», - said later chief judge Vladimir Komel.
Let's add that it's a true art to race in such windy conditions. In the foreground comes the ability to competently take starts and go in the right direction. The price of an error in the weak and gusty wind is too high.
By the end of the day the situation was as follows: in the men's event the first place was taken by Israel's Eyal Yohay Zror, followed by his compatriot Daniel Tashtash. The third place was claimed by at least two drivers, among which was also Israeli Riuven Hillel, with Frenchman Manon Pianaza (14 points) leading among the girls. Probably the most stable athlete in the championship: Manon did not win a single race, but almost every time she finished in the top three. And even by the day of the final races she was three points ahead of the Russian. But by the end of the competition Yana Reznikova, which is called, got her taste. The day before, she came first twice and took off from fourth position to second. Israeli Naama Grimberg was in third place.
Dramatic final.
Of course, everyone was looking forward to the story, the medal race. The points of these races are doubling, and the winners are definitely waiting for the gold. Dozens of leaders of junior division of RS:X class, future participants of adult Olympiads and world championships came to the distance.
To turn the second place in the victory, Russian Yana Reznikova, who lost to the leader of women's classification Manon Pyanaza with two points, had to come first.
One could hope that Manon Pianaza would make a mistake and come in third at most, but she did not want to rely on Jan's case.
In the race itself Manon and Yana, of course, followed each other. From the start they went one way, but the Russian woman was luckier and came out on the first sign as a leader. Unexpectedly our Anastasia Shchedrina came forward (fifth in the overall standings). After the first sign the girls went closely and gradually left their rivals. By the third sign Shchedrina came forward, but Yana, going full course, went ahead and finished first. Shchedrina came after her, and Pyanaza took fourth place.
This result brought Jana Reznikova gold and the title of world champion, Pianaza lagged behind the Russian woman by three points and took second place. Naama Greenberg finished third and she also got bronze in the overall standings. The fourth place is occupied by her compatriot Lina Geva, while the fifth place is occupied by Anastasia Shchedrina.
The final of the medal race among young men was expected to be much more predictable. From the first sign the Israelis - Iial Yohai Zror and Daniel Tashtash - took the lead and followed each other in each sign. All the way to the finish line, their best friends kept the rest of the fleet away from each other to play gold with each other. In this fight, Zror was luckier, who finished first and won the championship. His teammate - Tashtash - was second in the race and in the overall standings. The most fierce struggle was for the bronze medal. Israeli Reuven Gilel beat Greek Alexandros Kalpoyannakis by only one point.
Live speech.
In the heat of passion, the medal race was unbelievable.
«We rejoice at the victories of our teammates. But in races we do not use team tactics - on the water each for himself. During the races, I didn't think at all about being friends with Iyal, although we are best friends on the water. Each of us had a plan to win the championship at most," Daniel Tashtash»shared.
True, this approach to first place has not yet led him.
On the contrary, friendship stimulated Yana Reznikov.
«My strongest rival in the medal race is Nastia Shchedrina. We passed this race best of all and I finished first, and she finished second. So I fought only with her. The water area is familiar to me, I often train here, at the same time in this championship were wind directions, which are not typical»for Peter.
The hardest thing for her was waiting on the shore, because it's very difficult not to twist yourself up, not to think about racing.
«Yana managed to gather, - characterized the champion Vladimir Komel, - in the class wins the one who is able to work on the board at its speed, that is - very quickly, is able to strategically see the race and act very technically. As for the men's podium, Israeli guys, yes, in principle, and girls, once again confirmed that they are one of the best athletes in this discipline in the world. You can also thank nature for this, because the surf season in Israel lasts 10 (!) months.
Coast program
A charity sailing regatta «of hope»was held as part of the World Cup. The organizer is Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg. All initial contributions of participants were sent to Advita fund. In total - together with registration fees and donations - about 300 thousand rubles were collected. Drivers in «Optimist», «Laser», «Beam» and «Zoom», «Techno» and «DNK»classes, as well as kitesurfers came to the distance. Over 80 sportsmen took part in the regatta. Anyone could take part in the charity regatta.
In addition, two weekends Petersburgers enjoyed a family festival «under sail». The guests were invited to train in a rope cube and on a climbing wall, to shoot with archery and do SUP surfing. You could learn the basics of windsurfing on a special simulator, as well as play beach tennis and feel like a sailor of Petrovskaya pores, learning the wisdom of rigging. In addition, the organizers prepared 20 quests designed for speed, strength, endurance and wit. To participate, you needed a charged smartphone with Internet access. And after overcoming all the tests, each participant received gifts. The quest was designed for both children and adults.
