First gold medal today was for Aussie Tom Slingsby in Laser class. Tom has been sailing really well including 4 times first place. Not only Tom Slingsby but also RS:X class surfer Nick Dempsey from GBR took the gold medal after he completed a series of 5 wins including a first place in the medal races. With four second places in respectively Laser, Finn, Laser Radial and Yngling and a third overall place in 470 womens class, the British team ranked first in the overall scores, giving them a super Sunday.

The sailing conditions on the final day of the Regatta were excellent. There was a good breeze and the sun came out a few times. The Medal Races, sailed right off the coast of Medemblik, brought a lot of excitement to the spectators. In three classes (Finn, 470 and Yngling), team GBR competed for medals with the Dutch. World champions Marceline de Koning and Lobke Berkhout were a class of their own. The succeeded in continuing their strong performance and took the gold in 470 class, where Christina Bassadone and Saskia Clark got the bronze medal. Dutch young guns Joeri van Dijk and Casper Bouman took a third and fouth overall place in RS:X class.

The Holland Regatta is setting an example for 2012 Olympics. Earlier this week, Rob Andrews, competition manager from the RYA, visited the Regatta site to learn more about the organisation of the international sailing event. As competition manager of the RYA he is involved in a campaign for Olympic races to be sailed at the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy. They aim to be one of the venues to host the 2012 Olympic Sailing competition. Andrews: “We are looking to stage a number of big world events each year. The Holland Regatta is a much respected sailing event. We learn a lot which will help us in our preparations for our Sail for Gold Regatta in 2012.”

All results are published on the website www.hollandregatta.org

Source: Media Office