| MARSTRAND, SWEDEN-(11-6-2003) The Finn European Championships concluded today (June
11) but there was no sight of Team GBR sailor Ben Ainslie on the start line
of the final race. This was because Ainslie had already successfully
defended his European title with a day to spare and had no need to sail the
final race.
'Team Volvo for life' sailor and Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie led the
event from start to finish and although the points were close during the
first half of the championship, he eventually pulled out a nineteen-point
lead over the 1996 Olympic gold medallist Mateusz Kusznierewicz of Poland
and finished thirty-two points in front the 1996 Olympic silver medallist
Sebastien Godefroid of Belgium, who finished in third place overall.
In varied conditions that ranged from no wind to 22 knots, Ainslie scored
nothing worse than an eighth place and included three first places in his
score line. On the penultimate day, Ainslie sailed a perfect day crossing
the line first in both races, which was enough to see him win the European
championships for a second consecutive year.
Ainslie said, `I am really happy with how I sailed and it is good to be so
consistent during this event. It is obviously particularly pleasing to have
won with a day to spare as all the top guys are competing,` he continued,
`the big event is now the world championships in Cadiz this September which
is the first opportunity to qualify for the Olympics.`
Teammate Andrew Simpson improved as the event went on, finishing the final
race of the championship with a fourth place, which put him in seventh place
overall.
RYA Olympic Manager Stephen Park commented, It was another strong showing
from Ben Ainslie who was able to win the regatta with a race to spare. It
was also pleasing to see a good finish from Andrew Simpson who now seems to
be improving with every event.`
Final results (8 races, 1 discard)
1, Ben Ainslie, GBR (3,1,5,3,8,1,1,(DNS)) 22 pts
2, Mateusz Kusznierewicz, POL (6,2,4,4,6,5,14,(DNS)) 41 pts
3, Sebastien Godefroid, BEL (1,3,10,(BFD),7,9,19,5) 54 pts
Other GBR
7, Andrew Simpson (15,17,9,(37),12,7,9,4) 73 pts
14, Dave Mellor (11,8,(57),23,29,12,13,12) 108 pts
25, Chris Brittle (26,13,42,20,(49),25,18,22) 166 pts
28, Charlie Cumbley (28,32,(37),16,28,27,25,29) 185 pts
37, Adam Cowling (32,35,(54),43,31,37,43,18) 239 pts
39, Matthew Howard (38,40,27,(51),38,34,39,38) 254 pts
45, Ed Greig (Junior) 43,48,50,34,(55),28,44,34) 281 pts
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