49er and 49er FX Asian Championships set for dramatic finale

Muscat: The race for medals will head into the final day of the 2021 Asian 49er and 49er FX Championships in Barcelo Mussanah Resort with several crews still in contention in both classes.

Day two of competition in the 49er FX class saw Molly Highfield and Sandi Choi of Hong Kong edge ahead of India’s Harshita Tomar and Sweta Shervegar. Both teams gained on the overall leaders to finish in third and ninth place respectively. In the overall standings, Odile Van Aanholt and Elise de Eujter of the Netherlands continue to lead, holding a narrow advantage over Lara Granier and Amelie Riou of France. Laura Schoefegger and Lina Forthofer from Austria and Mathilde Lounadina and Marne Riou of France are currently tied in fourth place.

In the 49er class, Akira Sakai and Russell Awylworth from Hong Kong lead from KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar of India and the Omani crews of Musab al Hadi, Walid al Kindi, Ahmed al Hasani and Abdulrahman al Mashari. Danish pairing Fredrik Rask and Jacob Precht lead overall, ahead of Great Britain’s James Peters and Fynn Skerritt. The German team of Jakob Meggendorfer and Andreas Spranger ended the day in third, while Ireland’s Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove are tied in fourth with Herman Umpierre and Fernando Diz from Uruguay just one point off a podium position.

That set the stage for a busy penultimate day. Molly Highfield and Sandi Choi (HKG) slipped back to sixth as Finnish pair of Ronja Gronblom and Veera Hokka regained second place overall. Lara Granier and Amelie Riou (FRA) dropped a place to third, moving Mathilde Lounadina and Marine Riou (FRA) down to fourth and Laura Schoefegger and Lina Forthofer from Austria and Mathilde Lounadina and Marne Riou of France are still tied in fifth.

It was all change in the 49er Class today. The Indian crew of KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar jumped ahead of Akira Sakai and Russell Awylworth from Hong Kong with some excellent results aided by the latter being disqualified in the sixth race. Omani pair Musab al Hadi and Walid al Kindi are now just seven points behind in third going into the final day of racing.

Fredrik Rask and Jacob Precht (DEN) remain top of the overall rankings, holding a nine-point lead over Hernan Umpierre and Fernando Diz (URU) in second and Andrew Mollerus and Ian MacDiarmid (USA) in third a further six points back. Jack Hawkins and Chris Thomas (GBR) are fourth, Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove (IRL) fifth and James Peters and Fynn Skerritt (GBR) finish the day in six, with just two points separating third and sixth place.

Rashid al Kindi, Director of Sailing at Oman Sail, said, “Today served as a reminder of how sailing in Asia has progressed and how much talent is coming through the national sailing programmes. The final day of competition promises to be exciting as medals are decided and crews strive for improvements in performance that could see them rise in the rankings. We are very pleased with how the tournament has been managed and it has been great to welcome sailors back to the Sultanate of Oman. We are in the middle of a very busy winter season and look forward to seeing the gains made during this competition show in the rankings at the 49er and 49erFX World Championships next week.”

The 2021 Asian 49er and 49erFX Championships attracted fleet of 50 across both classes, representing countries from Asia competing for the title and guest sailors around the world training in a competitive environment.

Many of the sailors will remain in Mussanah after the competition ends to prepare for the 49er and 49erFX World Championships, which takes place from 16 to 21 November. Mussanah is also preparing to host the opening ceremony and first leg of the 11th edition of Sailing Arabia — The Tour on 24th November 2021 and the 50th Youth Sailing World Championships, the first time one of the most significant competitions in the sailing calendar has been held in the Asian federation, starting on December 11, 2021.