iQFoil-EM: Sebastian Kördel with a strong start, Goyard and Wennekes in the lead
Tobias Frauen
· 10.05.2023
The first races of the iQFoil European Championships took place yesterday in Patras, Greece. One year before the Olympic Games, the European Championships are one of the most important regattas of the year and a benchmark for who the candidates are for a medal ahead of Marseille 2024. With 86 women and 114 men registered, the fields are once again well filled, with competitors from China, Japan, Argentina, Australia and other overseas countries also travelling to Greece.
At the start, the Gulf of Patras, around 100 kilometres west of Athens, offered quite challenging conditions for the iQFoilers with up to 23 knots of wind and a short, steep wave. The start was on a trapezoidal course with upwind, half-wind and downwind sections.
Nicolas Goyard dominated the men's field, closely followed by reigning world champion Sebastian Kördel. The French course racing specialist won the first three races, with Kördel crossing the line first in the fourth and final race of the day. With his two second places, Kördel is also in second place overall behind Goyard. The man from Radolfzell was able to record a new place in the second race after a crash as a striker, as was Goyard's 24th place in the final race. "Today was a tough day," summarised the Frenchman. "The wind was definitely strong, with gusts of probably up to 25 knots. Together with the upwind current, the conditions were challenging."
Luuc van Opzeeland is in third place after the first day, with Great Britain's Sam Sills currently in sixth. Fabian Wolf in 70th place, Jonne Heimann in 86th place and Lars Poggemann in 97th place complete the German men's field.
Sara Wennekes dominates the women's competition
Sara Wennekes from the Netherlands dominated the women's event at the start with two first and two second places. She was closely followed by Emma Wilson and Islay Watson, two starters from Great Britain. The women's race was characterised by intense battles and strategic manoeuvres in which every advantage was fought for with all their might, according to the organisers' summary.
The best German after the first day is Lena Erdil in 21st place, she finished in the top 10 in three out of four runs. Theresa Steinlein is in 37th place and Alisa Engelmann in 41st.
The next few days promise similar conditions with strong winds, so it will definitely remain exciting!
