MADRID, 22 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The 47th edition of the Christmas Race concluded this Friday after four days of competition in the waters of the bay of Palamós (Gerona), where the Ukrainian Oskar Madonich and the French Gilda Dondona, first and second in the ILCA 6 class, were the absolute champions and they respectively won the 'Diputació de Girona' awards, for best youth, and 'Manuel Albalat', for best Olympic classes.
In ILCA 6, Madonich took the title by winning the last round and taking 34 points over the second classified and female champion in this class, Dondona. In addition, they both won the Christmas Race jackpots; The Dutchman Abel Melens completed the podium, beating Canadian Carlos Carabati on the final day. The Catalan Joan Fargas (CN Cambrils), fifth, was the best Spaniard in this class.
In ILCA 4, the British Ben Anderson was proclaimed champion after winning the last test and ousting Girona's Quim Ferrer (CN Sant Feliu), who scored 28 and was relegated to fifth position. Who did get on the podium was Àlvar Vila (CN Cambrils) from Tarragona; Third, and women's champion, was the Finnish Iiris Sepponen.
In the double classes, 420 and 29er, they were not able to complete any test on this final day. The 29er had a general call start and the 420 did have a good start, but the winds and the low intensity of the wind caused the race to be stopped.
In the 420 class, the British Neil Marsden and David Bromilow won two points ahead of the French Simon Prot and Berier Joyet Sean, who were nine points ahead of the also British Alice Davis and Oliver Rayner. In the women's category, the French crew of Joane Ezraty and Ainoa Phillipe Sasiain took the win. The best Spanish ship was that of the Andalusians José Antonio Ruíz and Vicente Hernández (CN Puerto Sherry), fourth overall.
The 29er class already has its first leaders of the EuroCup 2024 circuit thanks to the champions of this event, the Dutch Tjed Wildeboer and Lars Van den Berg, accompanied on the podium by the Germans Moritz Wagner and Leo Gradel along with the Italians Federica Contardi and Lorenzo di Prieto. The latter was the first mixed crew, two points away from the Netherlands ship. The Italians Victoria Demurtras and Caroline Karlsen, fifth overall, won among the women.
The award ceremony took place in the Espai del Peix in the presence of Lluís Puig, mayor of Palamós; Maria Puig, vice-president of the Provincial Council of Girona; Miquel Aviño, vice president of CN Costa Brava/Vela Palamós; Xavier Torres, president of the Catalan Sailing Federation; Josep Coll, sports councillor, and Manel Albalat, representative of the Albalat family.