MADRID, 14 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish windsurfers Pilar Lamadrid and Nacho Baltasar qualified this Thursday to fight from the quarterfinals for the title of their respective divisions at the Lanzarote iQFOiL Games, the last event of the year in what will be a new Olympic class during Paris 2024, and which they still lead the Israeli Sharon Kantor and the Dutch Luuc van Opzeeland.
There was strong wind of between 15 and 20 knots, and more than two meters of waves, to face the Marathon test on the penultimate day of this event, which brought together a fleet with 160 sailors to do a demanding course of less than an hour duration between Lanzarote and Isla de Lobos, passing through Punta del Papagayo.
The Marathon itself, which scored as two 'race course' regattas, and the dispute of the last two rounds of the Final Series decided the 10 windsurfers with a ticket for the Medal Series. The leaders, Kantor and Van Opzeeland, went directly to the grand final while the Spanish Lamadrid and Baltasar will fight from the quarterfinals.
Van Opzeeland was unbeatable in the Marathon. With a time of 49 minutes from the starting horn until he crossed the finish line, the Dutchman achieved partial victory in a race after which he settled at the top of the table.
In the two race course tests held in the afternoon, Van Opzeeland retired from the first (partial becoming his last discard) and sealed a second place in the second. Behind them, the second and third place overall, the Frenchman Nicolás Goyard and the Italian Nicolò Renna, went directly to the semi-final.
The next seven sailors will compete, from the quarterfinals, in the Medal Series. In this context, Nacho Baltasar saved the day this Thursday with a 13th place in the Marathon and 37-23 results in the last two events. With these markers and after discarding 37th place, the Spaniard remained within the 'top 10' and got into the fight for the podium.
KANTOR SHOWS UNAFFORDABLE
In addition, Kantor once again stood out from her pursuers in the women's category. Her victory in the Marathon allowed her to expand distances and regain the lead alone to face the last two tests of the Final Series with an advantage.
The strong wind and waves that the fleet encountered in the morning gave way to a more unstable wind in the afternoon, complicating the last race of the day in which only 10 sailors managed to cross the finish line.
Thus, Kantor went directly to the final due to her first position while the also Israeli Katy Spychakov and the British Emma Wilson, second and third respectively, will start their fight from the semifinals.
Behind, Pilar Lamadrid maintained fifth position overall for another day with a 15th place in the Marathon, along with a 24th and a retirement, partials that she discarded on her way to the quarterfinals. This Friday's Medal Series will be divided into quarterfinals, semifinals and that grand final with all options open.