| SKOVSHOVED, DENMARK-(14-8-2002) Fresh off his victory two weeks ago at the Swedish Match Tour’s UBS Challenge, Great Britain’s Chris Law and The Outlaws are on a quest to make it two wins in a row on the Swedish Match Tour by capturing the Danish Open 2002, set to begin tomorrow and hosted by the KDY/SKS Match Race Center, on Skovshoved Harbor, just north of Copenhagen. Among those standing in between Law and his goal are a bevy of Scandinavian skippers.
Danes Jesper Radich and Jes Gram-Hansen, currently ranked fourth and fifth on the Swedish Match Tour 2002/3 Rankings, are very familiar with the boats used at the regatta, the DS 37 Match Racers, as well as the local waters. Additionally, Gram-Hansen would like nothing more than to notch his first Swedish Match Tour win on his home waters while Radich would like to go two-for-two at Match Race Center-hosted regattas, having previously won April’s MRC Challenge.
Two other Danes, Lars Nordjberg and Henrik Jensen are also helming entries here this week. Most recently, Nordjberg finished seventh at the Trofeo Challenge Roberto Trombini Match Race in Ravenna, Italy. Team Nordjberg practices in Skovshoved almost every day and know the shifts and waters well, which should work to their advantage this week.
Four Swedish skippers will also enter the fray. Bjorn Hansen of the GOL Sailing Team, Michael Lindqvist, Mattias Rahm and Gustav Nilsson will lead their teams. Hansen finished ninth at the Trombini Match Race while Lindqvist finished 10th at July’s Swedish Match Cup. Rahm will be making his second Swedish Match Tour appearance after failing to advance to the championship round of the Swedish Match Cup the first week of July. The Danish Open 2002 will be Nilsson’s first Swedish Match Tour competition.
Finland’s Staffan Lindberg completes the Scandinavian contingent at the Danish Open 2002. Lindberg will use the knowledge he gained skippering the DS 37 Match Racers at last month’s Swedish Match Cup qualifying to his advantage this week.
France’s Mathieu Richard will also be challenging for the eighth Danish Open. Richard would like nothing better to steal the Scandinavian’s thunder and abscond the Danish Open Trophy to France.
Rounding out the list of competitors, and having traveled the farthest to challenge for the Danish Open trophy, is Australia’s Scott Walton. Walton is relatively unknown on the international sailing scene but has garnered his share of local accolades and hopes to make his first break-through this week.
The Danish Open 2002 begins at 10am on Thursday. For all the latest news and results log on to www.swedishmatchtour.com.
About the Swedish Match Tour
· The Swedish Match Tour is comprised of nine of the world's leading professional sailing events and is proving to be the ultimate battleground of sailing.
· In addition to more than US$400,000 in individual event prize money, the Swedish Match Tour awards US$200,000 to the top eight sailors on the Swedish Match Tour, with the first-place skipper netting US$60,000.
· In addition to a US$60,000 first prize, the winner of the Swedish Match Tour receives the official Swedish Match Tour Championship Trophy, 15`` (30 cm) high with 22 carat gold gilding, produced by Swedish Match Tour sponsor Wedgwood. Additionally, Wedgwood supplies runner-up prizes for second and third places as well as commemorative plaques to each event organizer.
· The Swedish Match Tour produces 155 hours of television coverage reaching more than 427 million households worldwide.
· Swedish Match Tour partners include Swedish Match, Octagon and the Match Race Association.
· Swedish Match Tour sponsors include Colorcraft, Champagne Mumm, Musto and Wedgwood
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