The Lanzarote iQFOiL Games have put an end to the last big event of the year this Friday with a day of action and perfect conditions. Winds of between 12 and 15 knots have been the dominant trend in the Medal Series in which the ten best windsurfers in each category have fought for a title that was finally awarded to the two undisputed leaders of the championship: Sharon Kantor and the current world champion of the class, the Dutchman Luuc Van Opzeeland. The Spaniards Nacho Baltasar and Pilar Lamadrid, for their part, finished in eighth and ninth position respectively.
The event, which counts towards the Olympic windsurfing circuit and which Marina Rubicón has organized for the second time this season – the first was held last January – has once again been a complete success and confirmed the unique potential of the island for the practice of this sport. With perfect wind, sun and wave conditions throughout the week, the Lanzarote iQFOiL Games ends having competed in all formats: slalom, race course and a demanding marathon in an unparalleled environment that united the islands of Lanzarote and Lobos.
Luuc Van Opzeeland, winner of the LanzaroteiQFOiL Games. Nacho Baltasar, eighth after the quarterfinals and a semifinal in which the second and third classified overall, the French Nicolás Goyard and the Italian Nicolo Renna, were left out, the Grand Final pitted the leader Luuc Van Opzeeland and the two who The British Finn Hawkins and the Danish Johan Søe gained access in the penultimate phase.
The Dutchman, who led firmly from the second day of the championship, did not give ground and once again dominated clearly in the decisive regatta. After taking the lead in the first passage through the buoy, Van Opzeeland withstood the pressure of his rivals and sealed the final victory ahead of Hawkins, who was second, and Søe, who closed the podium of the Lanzarote event in third place and won the victory in under 21.
“It has been an incredible day,” said the Dutchman. “The last day is always complicated, today I pushed a lot, I had a fabulous start and I was up there and in the end I took the victory. “It has been a good week and good waves during the championship.”
The Balearic Nacho Baltasar, who qualified for the Medal Series in tenth position, was fifth in the quarterfinals, a result that placed him in eighth place overall and second in the under 21 category with very good feelings ahead of the World Cup. which will be held at the end of next January under the organization of Marina Rubicón.
“I really wanted to do the Medal, especially because of the experience ahead of the Games, and this regatta has been very good for me to see the mistakes I have and to be able to correct them for the next regattas. The truth is that I am improving a lot and very quickly,” Baltasar declared.
Sharon Kantor, intractable, wins the final victory and Pilar Lamadrid finishes ninth. There were no surprises in the iQFOiL women’s division. Of the three sailors who reached the Medal Series on the provisional podium, only the third, the British Emma Wilson, was left without being able to fight for the medals by sealing a fourth in the semifinal.
Thus, the leader Sharon Kantor, who went directly to the Grand Final, and the windsurfers Tamar Steinberg and Katy Spychakov, who faced the day from the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively, fought in an exciting three-way duel. Kantor once again gave her best and sealed the Canary Islands event with a final partial victory, a result that made her the brand new winner with a total of nine wins and three other podiums in the 16 races held.
Kantor, who has not dropped out of first place overall since the first day of the championship, stated after returning to land that “I felt very good, the conditions have been very good and the Final has been very interesting. I am very happy to have won. My plan now is to stay a few days and then return to prepare for the World Cup, which I’m looking forward to.”
First and second place in the under 21 category also went to Sharon Kantor and Tamar Steinberg.
For her part, the Spanish Pilar Lamadrid sealed a sixth place in the quarterfinals this Friday, which places her definitively in ninth position overall.
The awards ceremony, which took place at 5:00 p.m. local time, was attended by Juan Monzón, Sports Councilor of the Island Council of Lanzarote; Ángel Lago, Sports Councilor of the Yaiza City Council, and Daniel Medina, Tourism Councilor; María Martín representing Lanzarote Tourism; Rafael Bonilla, president of the Royal Canarian Sailing Federation; and Rafael Lasso, CEO of Marina Rubicón.
The action continues at the Lanzarote Sailing Center, after the Lanzarote iQFOiL Games, Marina Rubicón is already preparing for her next two major events, the iQFOiL World Cup at the end of next January and the 49er and 49er FX in March, both events framed within the Lanzarote International Regatta. Until then, Olympic activity continues without rest at the Lanzarote Sailing Center, where a large group of teams and crews from different countries around the world have established their training base for Paris 2024.
The event was organized by Marina Rubicón and had the collaboration of the Royal Canarian Sailing Federation, as well as the institutional support of Promotur Turismo de Canarias, the Tourism area of the Cabildo of Lanzarote through the sports product European Sports Destination ( managed by SPEL-Turismo Lanzarote), the Yaiza City Council and the private entities Dinghycoach, Naviera Armas and Cabrera Medina (Cicar).
FINAL overall podium. iQFOiL Female
1. Sharon Kantor
2. Tamar Steinberg
3. Katy Spychakov
… up to 72 classified
FINAL overall podium. iQFOiL Male
1. Luuc Van Opzeeland
2. Finn Hawkins
3. Johan Søe
…up to 88 classifieds
2023-12-19 00:01:06
#LANZAROTE #IQFOIL #GAMES #SUCCESSFULLY #CLOSES #EDITION #SEASON
