FINN GOLD CUP - Press Room

Ben Ainslie Crowned Champion of the World!

Ben Ainslie (GBR 3) is the winner of the FINN Gold Cup in his first year in the FINN class! “Turbo” Ben, who is only twenty-five, produced an astonishing performance in all eight races, finishing in the first eight every single time! The Sydney Gold Medallist (in the Laser class) was by far the fastest upwind as well as the most consistent. The presence and guidance of his experienced coach, David Howlett, was another essential factor for this enormous success. Mr Howlett proved to have a very good knowledge of the Athenian weather conditions, which he gained in the early nineteen eighties when sailing along the side of FINN Olympic medallists Elias Hatzipavlis and Tassos Boudouris in the Saronic Golf and as a result guided his team magnificently.
Ben finished eighth in today’s last race behind Rafael Villar (ESP 100) (no I’m not surprised this time Raffa :), Andrew Simson (GBR 6) and Szukiel Waclaw (POL 12).
Today’s other scheduled race was cancelled under specific orders from the Coastguard Police due to dangerous weather conditions.
The top 3 Juniors are Chris Brittle who is conserving his title, Marin Misura and his training partner, Gasper Vincec from Slovenia.
The top 9 countries to qualify for the 2004 Athens Olympics (under ISAF approval and protests) are: GBR, POL, CRO, ESP, BEL, GER, FRA, BRA and IRL

2002 FGC, Saturday July 27th

After waiting several hours at the Olympiakos Yacht Club for a storm to pass over Athens, Finn sailors left for the 7th and 8th race of the Championship with finally a strong sea breeze. After a general recall, the race started under black Flag for an Olympic triangle and “free upwind pumping”. A few sailors decided to go back to the yacht club after the wind increased to 20 knots and lift the sea to a 2,5 meters rolling waves. Some others had to be rescued after their boat capsized. Casualties include a broken mast for Filippo Caporale, the halyard of Joao Signorini and a few ripped sails.
Sebastien Godefroid won the race in what he describes as being his favourites conditions: ”It was great fun out there, I love these big waves, a pity there wasn’t a second one!!”. The start was slightly favoured at the Committee boat. Andrew Simpson went to the left to reach the top mark in front of Sebastien Godefroid and Mateusz Kusznierewicz. The wing mark was hidden by the big waves and the top sailors went too high. Sebastien and Mateusz were the first one to locate it and took the opportunity to pass Andrew Simpson. Ben Ainslie and Sebastien Godefroid passed Mateusz and Andrew on the second beat. The Belg took the lead on the last run. Ben Ainslie made the most of his 90 kg to finish second in front of Mateusz, Rafael Trujillo and Andrew Simpson. After 7 races, Ben Ainslie is consolidating his lead over Mateusz. Karlo Kuret climbed to third after scoring a 7th today. He is only 2 points ahead of Emilios Papathanasiou who placed 9th. Race winner, Sebastien is in 5th overall position.
Chris Brittle is still leading the Junior group (13th), 2 places in front of Croatian Marin Misura.
The top 9 countries as for today are: GBR, POL, CRO, BEL, ESP, GER, FRA, BRA NED.
Two races could be sailed tomorrow, last day of the Championship.

Clash of the Champions! (26/7/2002)

Regatta leader Ben Ainslie and Mateusz Kusznierewicz reigned on the third day of racing in the 2002 Finn Gold Cup, winning one race each and placing second in the other. The two Olympic Medallists displayed great racing skills, especially on the downwind legs, under the watchful eye of the Jury.

Ben Ainslie is conserving his early lead on the 90 boats, in front of Mateusz and Emilios Papathanasiou. The Pole is back in contention for the title after discarding a race disqualification following 2 yellow flags on the first day of racing.
The wind varied between 8 to 14 knots towards the end of the last race. The sea was flat with waves starting to appear on the last run.
The start of race 5 was given under Black Flag, after a General recall. The wind had settled since the previous days and minor shifts made racing tricky. Pascal Rambeau led to the top mark. “ I started in the middle of the line and played with the shifts.” He was soon passed on the downwind leg by Ben Ainslie. Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Emilios Papathanasiou closed the gap at the second top mark and passed the French on the run. Ben Ainslie claimed his second victory followed across the line by Mateusz, Emilios, Pascal Rambeau and Greg Skidmore. Danish Junior Jonas Hoegh-Christensen had to withdraw from the race and the Championship after getting a third disqualification by the Jury for pumping upwind!
The second race of the day (Race 6) started with winds averaging 12 knots. The line was even and the wind shifting slightly across the course. Rafael Trujillo first at the mark, lost some ground on the run but kept the lead. The Spaniard entered the last run to the finish with Ben Ainslie and Mateusz Kusznierewicz on his trail. A real show of downwind technics was displayed with Mateusz winning the contest and the race. “I finally had some great fun downwind, the waves were big enough to allow good surfing”. Ben Ainslie took second place in front of Rafael Trujillo. British Junior Chris Brittle placed 4th.
After 6 races, Ben Ainslie is still in the lead with only 11 points. Mateusz Kusznierewicz is second with 28 points in front of Emilios Papathanasiou and Karlo Kuret both on 29 points.
Defending his World Title, Chris Brittle is the first Junior is in 12th place. Second is Croatian Marin Misura in 19 position, sailing very consistently with a 29th as his worse result. Third place goes to “light weight” sailor, Gasper Vincec from Slovenia, 23rd.
The Finn sailors are controlled daily by International Finn Measurer, Juri Saraskin realising on water spot checks. Once on land, the sailors have to go through doping control with 18 sailors being controlled to date.
Two races are scheduled for tomorrow in order to catch up with yesterday forced rest due to storm threat.

Ben Ainslie takes the lead. (24/7/2002)

Ben Ainslie from Great Britain took the lead of the 2002 Finn Gold Cup after two beautiful races sailed today out of Pireus. With none less than 2 Olympic Medals and World titles in the Laser class, the British Champion is making a brillant arrival in the Finn class, finishing in the top 5 in the 2002 Eurolymp circuit and wining the European Finn Championship. After placing 5th in the first race of the day, Ben claimed victory in the second. Early regatta leader, Emilios Papathanasiou is now in 22nd place after two bad starts and braking his rudder in the last race after a collision.
The wind had settled to a stable direction and varied only from 8 to 12 knots in a very choppy sea. The Racing Committee used the windward Leeward course in both races and produced high quality and fair racing. The first start was given under individual recall costing the race of Andrew Kern and Cees Scheurwater. As usual the pin end was crowded. Rafael Trujillo got clear on the left side of the course to lead the race, to the finish. Brazilians Bruno Prada and Joao Signorini placed in 2nd and 4th places with Guillaume Florent from France in 3rd. Sebastien Godefroid, Ben Ainslie and Michael Fellmann fought to the finish to cross the line within 2 meters of each other! Following them, Christoph Burger made a last effort to catch a wave that cost him the race: he collected his second yellow flag from the Jury! Race 4 got under way with an individual recall disqualifying two other Americans: Gregory Skidmore and Geoff Ewenson. With 20 boats fighting for a pole position at the pin end, Emilios Papathanasiou hit another boat and had to start way back after taking his penalty turn. After a rocket start, Michael Fellmann rounded the top mark in front of Ben Ainslie, Gregory Skidmore (OCS) and Mateusz Kusznierewicz. Ben Ainslie passed the German on the second beat, only by a boat length. They entered the last run to the finish with a 30 second lead on Mateusz and Joao Signorini who lost 5 places on the last run to finish the race in 9th place. After 4 places, Ben Ainslie is the new regatta leader with Karlo Kuret in second position. The Croatian who is campaigning for his 4th Olympic games is considered as a veteran in the Finn class. His wife explains his good form by an old Croatian proverbe” It is only with old pork that the soup is good!” Defending Word Champion, Sebastien Godefroid is placed 3rd. The surprise of this Championship is the young Brazilian, Joao Signorini in 4th place, one point ahead of Rafael Trujillo.
Top juniors are Chris Brittle, 14th, Marin Misura, 15th and Jonas Hoegh-Christensen 38th.
Four sailors received their second “yellow fag” today and had to retire from the race: Christoph Burger, Mauricio Bueno, Jonas Hoegh-Christensen and Piotr Zoltowski. With poor weather expected towards the end of the week, the RC might decide again on 2 races for tomorrow.
Don’t miss the live mark rounding on the official website:www.eio.gr\finn2002

Ben Ainslie from Great Britain took the lead of the 2002 Finn Gold Cup after two beautiful races sailed today out of Pireus. With none less than 2 Olympic Medals and World titles in the Laser class, the British Champion is making a brillant arrival in the Finn class, finishing in the top 5 in the 2002 Eurolymp circuit and wining the European Finn Championship. After placing 5th in the first race of the day, Ben claimed victory in the second. Early regatta leader, Emilios Papathanasiou is now in 22nd place after two bad starts and braking his rudder in the last race after a collision.
The wind had settled to a stable direction and varied only from 8 to 12 knots in a very choppy sea. The Racing Committee used the windward Leeward course in both races and produced high quality and fair racing. The first start was given under individual recall costing the race of Andrew Kern and Cees Scheurwater. As usual the pin end was crowded. Rafael Trujillo got clear on the left side of the course to lead the race, to the finish. Brazilians Bruno Prada and Joao Signorini placed in 2nd and 4th places with Guillaume Florent from France in 3rd. Sebastien Godefroid, Ben Ainslie and Michael Fellmann fought to the finish to cross the line within 2 meters of each other! Following them, Christoph Burger made a last effort to catch a wave that cost him the race: he collected his second yellow flag from the Jury! Race 4 got under way with an individual recall disqualifying two other Americans: Gregory Skidmore and Geoff Ewenson. With 20 boats fighting for a pole position at the pin end, Emilios Papathanasiou hit another boat and had to start way back after taking his penalty turn. After a rocket start, Michael Fellmann rounded the top mark in front of Ben Ainslie, Gregory Skidmore (OCS) and Mateusz Kusznierewicz. Ben Ainslie passed the German on the second beat, only by a boat length. They entered the last run to the finish with a 30 second lead on Mateusz and Joao Signorini who lost 5 places on the last run to finish the race in 9th place. After 4 places, Ben Ainslie is the new regatta leader with Karlo Kuret in second position. The Croatian who is campaigning for his 4th Olympic games is considered as a veteran in the Finn class. His wife explains his good form by an old Croatian proverbe” It is only with old pork that the soup is good!” Defending Word Champion, Sebastien Godefroid is placed 3rd. The surprise of this Championship is the young Brazilian, Joao Signorini in 4th place, one point ahead of Rafael Trujillo.
Top juniors are Chris Brittle, 14th, Marin Misura, 15th and Jonas Hoegh-Christensen 38th.
Four sailors received their second “yellow fag” today and had to retire from the race: Christoph Burger, Mauricio Bueno, Jonas Hoegh-Christensen and Piotr Zoltowski. With poor weather expected towards the end of the week, the RC might decide again on 2 races for tomorrow.
Don’t miss the live mark rounding on the official website:www.eio.gr\finn2002

Glorious day for Emilios! (23/7/2002)

Greek Finn Champion, Emilios Papathanasiou proved today that he is the king at home after winning with ease the first two races of the 2002 Finn Gold Cup.

For everyone else it was a hard day. The capricious wind, gratifying the right side of the course early afternoon, turned constantly to the left, with 3 major shifts during the afternoon. The first one costs the first race, cancelled as the leaders had the finishing line in sight! Class newcomer, Joao Signorini from Brazil, had fought hard to remain in the lead, a 100 meters from a race victory, the checked flag was flown and great hope turned into bitter frustration. The 100 degres shift that had hit the top of the course didn’t leave any other option to the race Committee. Emilios Papathanasiou placed in the last 10, as well as many top Finn sailors who had taken a bad option, blessed the wise decision of the race Committee and his PRO George Sklavounos.
The start of the first race was given again in light conditions and small chops. The left side was again favoured. Jaap Zielhuis shared the lead with Nenad Viali until Emilios came from 4th at the last top mark to win the race. Guillaume Florent from France made his way back from a 15th place to 2nd across the line in front of Sebastien Godefroid. First Junior was Marin Misura in 20th position.
The second race of the day started under Q flag and a triangle course after a clean first start.
Emilios Papathanasiou was leading all the boats going to the left. He increased his lead on the reaches and the last run. After the first leg to the windward mark, the wind had soften to 12 knots. The Q flag for “free” pumping was unchanged until the bottom mark allowing the sailors to demonstrate their pumping skills!! The second major shift of the day happened on the second reach, transformed in a square run. The wind turned some more drastically on the last beat. Ben Ainslie made the most gain to finish second in front of Michael Maier and Karlo Kuret. Marin Misura, the Junior from Croatia, finished in 8th position and places 10th in the overall results.

After 2 races, Emilios Papathanasiou is leading on 2 points. Recent European Champion and “Laser Multi-Medallist” Ben Ainslie is second on 8 points. Karlo Kuret from Croatia is in 3rd place overall. Current World Champion, Sebastien Godefroid is 7th.
The top 3 Juniors are Marin Misura in 10th place, Jonas Hoegh-Christensen 14th and Chris Brittle 15th.
The day was long and tough not only for the sailors and the Race Committee but also for the 8 Jury members who distributed 29 yellow flags!
Among the 27 sailors to get penalised, Mateusz Kusznierewicz from Poland and Gasper Vincec from Slovenia collected 2 flags and had to retire from the race.
Young Hungarian sailor, Bence Sipos, broke his only mast during the first race and had to stay ashore.
Only one race is scheduled for Wednesday, July 24th.

Opening Ceremony (22/7/2002)

In the historic city of Pireus and under an almost full moon, Greek Minister of Mercantile Marine Mr.
Giorgos Anomeritis launched the Finn Gold Cup 2002.

After a long hot day of measurement and a short practice race, sailors and coaches from around the world joined Greek politicians and other important members of the Greek state in a memorable ceremony held in the Olympiakos FC marina. The officials welcomed the sailors and took the opportunity to congratulate the organising committee for their hard work. “I wish to thank the organizing committee and all the staff for the devotion that they have showed in organising this regatta” said Mr. Theodorakakis the chairman of Olympiakos. “ Despite the difficulties that they faced they have managed to produce excellent results so far.”Minister Anomeritis, who is also chairman of the Organising Comitee, concluded: “ I can promise you that this regatta will be the most successful we have ever hosted.” An impressive fiesta of dinner and fireworks concluded the ceremony. It was a fitting end to a successful day.
CONTACT:
Costis Nikiforakis,
e-mail: fgc-pressoffice@ath.forthnet.gr, tel. 0030104227542

Annual General Meeting of the FINN class (21/7/2002)

Yesterday evening the Finn class Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held at the veranda of Olympiakos FC. There was impressive attendance of sixty five sailors from thirty countries taking part in the event. Mr. Phillipe Rogue, President of the FINN class, chaired the lengthy meeting that lasted for over three hours.
Main decisions include:
The re-election of the IFA board and the election of two new members
The appointment of La Rochelle (France) as the city to hold the European Championship of 2004 On the technical forefront there were lengthy discussions without any major changes actually decided upon.
CONTACT:
Costis Nikiforakis,
e-mail: fgc-pressoffice@ath.forthnet.gr, tel. 0030104227542

The Heat is on! (20/7/2002)

The first day of registration and measurement was completed today under the intense Athenian heat (36C). Everything went according to plan, with head measurer Mr. Juri Saraskin in charge of the procedure. “ Everything is going better than I expected ”said Mr. Saraskin. First to go through measurement was Croatian Karlo Kuret at 10:20 a.m. Until now, 15 boats have passed measurement while 10 sailors have completed registration successfully.
The AGM meeting will be held today at 18:30 and will be chaired by the President of the FINN class Mr. Phllip Rogue.
CONTACT:
Costis Nikiforakis,
e-mail: fgc-pressoffice@ath.forthnet.gr, tel. 0030104227542

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	Ben Ainslie Crowned Champion of the World!
	Ben Ainslie (GBR 3) is the winner of the FINN Gold Cup in his first year in the FINN class! “Turbo” Ben, who is only twenty-five, produced an astonishing performance in all eight races, finishing in the first eight every single time! The Sydney Gold Medallist (in the Laser class) was by far the fastest upwind as well as the most consistent. The presence and guidance of his experienced coach, David Howlett, was another essential factor for this enormous success. Mr Howlett proved to have a very good knowledge of the Athenian weather conditions, which he gained in the early nineteen eighties when sailing along the side of FINN Olympic medallists Elias Hatzipavlis and Tassos Boudouris in the Saronic Golf and as a result guided his team magnificently. Ben finished eighth in today’s last race behind Rafael Villar (ESP 100) (no I’m not surprised this time Raffa :), Andrew Simson (GBR 6) and Szukiel Waclaw (POL 12). Today’s other scheduled race was cancelled under specific orders from the Coastguard Police due to dangerous weather conditions. The top 3 Juniors are Chris Brittle who is conserving his title, Marin Misura and his training partner, Gasper Vincec from Slovenia. The top 9 countries to qualify for the 2004 Athens Olympics (under ISAF approval and protests) are: GBR, POL, CRO, ESP, BEL, GER, FRA, BRA and IRL
	2002 FGC, Saturday July 27th
	After waiting several hours at the Olympiakos Yacht Club for a storm to pass over Athens, Finn sailors left for the 7th and 8th race of the Championship with finally a strong sea breeze. After a general recall, the race started under black Flag for an Olympic triangle and “free upwind pumping”. A few sailors decided to go back to the yacht club after the wind increased to 20 knots and lift the sea to a 2,5 meters rolling waves. Some others had to be rescued after their boat capsized. Casualties include a broken mast for Filippo Caporale, the halyard of Joao Signorini and a few ripped sails. Sebastien Godefroid won the race in what he describes as being his favourites conditions: ”It was great fun out there, I love these big waves, a pity there wasn’t a second one!!”. The start was slightly favoured at the Committee boat. Andrew Simpson went to the left to reach the top mark in front of Sebastien Godefroid and Mateusz Kusznierewicz. The wing mark was hidden by the big waves and the top sailors went too high. Sebastien and Mateusz were the first one to locate it and took the opportunity to pass Andrew Simpson. Ben Ainslie and Sebastien Godefroid passed Mateusz and Andrew on the second beat. The Belg took the lead on the last run. Ben Ainslie made the most of his 90 kg to finish second in front of Mateusz, Rafael Trujillo and Andrew Simpson. After 7 races, Ben Ainslie is consolidating his lead over Mateusz. Karlo Kuret climbed to third after scoring a 7th today. He is only 2 points ahead of Emilios Papathanasiou who placed 9th. Race winner, Sebastien is in 5th overall position. Chris Brittle is still leading the Junior group (13th), 2 places in front of Croatian Marin Misura. The top 9 countries as for today are: GBR, POL, CRO, BEL, ESP, GER, FRA, BRA NED. Two races could be sailed tomorrow, last day of the Championship.
	Clash of the Champions! (26/7/2002)
	Regatta leader Ben Ainslie and Mateusz Kusznierewicz reigned on the third day of racing in the 2002 Finn Gold Cup, winning one race each and placing second in the other. The two Olympic Medallists displayed great racing skills, especially on the downwind legs, under the watchful eye of the Jury. Ben Ainslie is conserving his early lead on the 90 boats, in front of Mateusz and Emilios Papathanasiou. The Pole is back in contention for the title after discarding a race disqualification following 2 yellow flags on the first day of racing. The wind varied between 8 to 14 knots towards the end of the last race. The sea was flat with waves starting to appear on the last run. The start of race 5 was given under Black Flag, after a General recall. The wind had settled since the previous days and minor shifts made racing tricky. Pascal Rambeau led to the top mark. “ I started in the middle of the line and played with the shifts.” He was soon passed on the downwind leg by Ben Ainslie. Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Emilios Papathanasiou closed the gap at the second top mark and passed the French on the run. Ben Ainslie claimed his second victory followed across the line by Mateusz, Emilios, Pascal Rambeau and Greg Skidmore. Danish Junior Jonas Hoegh-Christensen had to withdraw from the race and the Championship after getting a third disqualification by the Jury for pumping upwind! The second race of the day (Race 6) started with winds averaging 12 knots. The line was even and the wind shifting slightly across the course. Rafael Trujillo first at the mark, lost some ground on the run but kept the lead. The Spaniard entered the last run to the finish with Ben Ainslie and Mateusz Kusznierewicz on his trail. A real show of downwind technics was displayed with Mateusz winning the contest and the race. “I finally had some great fun downwind, the waves were big enough to allow good surfing”. Ben Ainslie took second place in front of Rafael Trujillo. British Junior Chris Brittle placed 4th. After 6 races, Ben Ainslie is still in the lead with only 11 points. Mateusz Kusznierewicz is second with 28 points in front of Emilios Papathanasiou and Karlo Kuret both on 29 points. Defending his World Title, Chris Brittle is the first Junior is in 12th place. Second is Croatian Marin Misura in 19 position, sailing very consistently with a 29th as his worse result. Third place goes to “light weight” sailor, Gasper Vincec from Slovenia, 23rd. The Finn sailors are controlled daily by International Finn Measurer, Juri Saraskin realising on water spot checks. Once on land, the sailors have to go through doping control with 18 sailors being controlled to date. Two races are scheduled for tomorrow in order to catch up with yesterday forced rest due to storm threat.
	Ben Ainslie takes the lead. (24/7/2002)
	Ben Ainslie from Great Britain took the lead of the 2002 Finn Gold Cup after two beautiful races sailed today out of Pireus. With none less than 2 Olympic Medals and World titles in the Laser class, the British Champion is making a brillant arrival in the Finn class, finishing in the top 5 in the 2002 Eurolymp circuit and wining the European Finn Championship. After placing 5th in the first race of the day, Ben claimed victory in the second. Early regatta leader, Emilios Papathanasiou is now in 22nd place after two bad starts and braking his rudder in the last race after a collision. The wind had settled to a stable direction and varied only from 8 to 12 knots in a very choppy sea. The Racing Committee used the windward Leeward course in both races and produced high quality and fair racing. The first start was given under individual recall costing the race of Andrew Kern and Cees Scheurwater. As usual the pin end was crowded. Rafael Trujillo got clear on the left side of the course to lead the race, to the finish. Brazilians Bruno Prada and Joao Signorini placed in 2nd and 4th places with Guillaume Florent from France in 3rd. Sebastien Godefroid, Ben Ainslie and Michael Fellmann fought to the finish to cross the line within 2 meters of each other! Following them, Christoph Burger made a last effort to catch a wave that cost him the race: he collected his second yellow flag from the Jury! Race 4 got under way with an individual recall disqualifying two other Americans: Gregory Skidmore and Geoff Ewenson. With 20 boats fighting for a pole position at the pin end, Emilios Papathanasiou hit another boat and had to start way back after taking his penalty turn. After a rocket start, Michael Fellmann rounded the top mark in front of Ben Ainslie, Gregory Skidmore (OCS) and Mateusz Kusznierewicz. Ben Ainslie passed the German on the second beat, only by a boat length. They entered the last run to the finish with a 30 second lead on Mateusz and Joao Signorini who lost 5 places on the last run to finish the race in 9th place. After 4 places, Ben Ainslie is the new regatta leader with Karlo Kuret in second position. The Croatian who is campaigning for his 4th Olympic games is considered as a veteran in the Finn class. His wife explains his good form by an old Croatian proverbe” It is only with old pork that the soup is good!” Defending Word Champion, Sebastien Godefroid is placed 3rd. The surprise of this Championship is the young Brazilian, Joao Signorini in 4th place, one point ahead of Rafael Trujillo. Top juniors are Chris Brittle, 14th, Marin Misura, 15th and Jonas Hoegh-Christensen 38th. Four sailors received their second “yellow fag” today and had to retire from the race: Christoph Burger, Mauricio Bueno, Jonas Hoegh-Christensen and Piotr Zoltowski. With poor weather expected towards the end of the week, the RC might decide again on 2 races for tomorrow. Don’t miss the live mark rounding on the official website:www.eio.gr\finn2002
	Ben Ainslie from Great Britain took the lead of the 2002 Finn Gold Cup after two beautiful races sailed today out of Pireus. With none less than 2 Olympic Medals and World titles in the Laser class, the British Champion is making a brillant arrival in the Finn class, finishing in the top 5 in the 2002 Eurolymp circuit and wining the European Finn Championship. After placing 5th in the first race of the day, Ben claimed victory in the second. Early regatta leader, Emilios Papathanasiou is now in 22nd place after two bad starts and braking his rudder in the last race after a collision. The wind had settled to a stable direction and varied only from 8 to 12 knots in a very choppy sea. The Racing Committee used the windward Leeward course in both races and produced high quality and fair racing. The first start was given under individual recall costing the race of Andrew Kern and Cees Scheurwater. As usual the pin end was crowded. Rafael Trujillo got clear on the left side of the course to lead the race, to the finish. Brazilians Bruno Prada and Joao Signorini placed in 2nd and 4th places with Guillaume Florent from France in 3rd. Sebastien Godefroid, Ben Ainslie and Michael Fellmann fought to the finish to cross the line within 2 meters of each other! Following them, Christoph Burger made a last effort to catch a wave that cost him the race: he collected his second yellow flag from the Jury! Race 4 got under way with an individual recall disqualifying two other Americans: Gregory Skidmore and Geoff Ewenson. With 20 boats fighting for a pole position at the pin end, Emilios Papathanasiou hit another boat and had to start way back after taking his penalty turn. After a rocket start, Michael Fellmann rounded the top mark in front of Ben Ainslie, Gregory Skidmore (OCS) and Mateusz Kusznierewicz. Ben Ainslie passed the German on the second beat, only by a boat length. They entered the last run to the finish with a 30 second lead on Mateusz and Joao Signorini who lost 5 places on the last run to finish the race in 9th place. After 4 places, Ben Ainslie is the new regatta leader with Karlo Kuret in second position. The Croatian who is campaigning for his 4th Olympic games is considered as a veteran in the Finn class. His wife explains his good form by an old Croatian proverbe” It is only with old pork that the soup is good!” Defending Word Champion, Sebastien Godefroid is placed 3rd. The surprise of this Championship is the young Brazilian, Joao Signorini in 4th place, one point ahead of Rafael Trujillo. Top juniors are Chris Brittle, 14th, Marin Misura, 15th and Jonas Hoegh-Christensen 38th. Four sailors received their second “yellow fag” today and had to retire from the race: Christoph Burger, Mauricio Bueno, Jonas Hoegh-Christensen and Piotr Zoltowski. With poor weather expected towards the end of the week, the RC might decide again on 2 races for tomorrow. Don’t miss the live mark rounding on the official website:www.eio.gr\finn2002
	Glorious day for Emilios! (23/7/2002)
	Greek Finn Champion, Emilios Papathanasiou proved today that he is the king at home after winning with ease the first two races of the 2002 Finn Gold Cup. For everyone else it was a hard day. The capricious wind, gratifying the right side of the course early afternoon, turned constantly to the left, with 3 major shifts during the afternoon. The first one costs the first race, cancelled as the leaders had the finishing line in sight! Class newcomer, Joao Signorini from Brazil, had fought hard to remain in the lead, a 100 meters from a race victory, the checked flag was flown and great hope turned into bitter frustration. The 100 degres shift that had hit the top of the course didn’t leave any other option to the race Committee. Emilios Papathanasiou placed in the last 10, as well as many top Finn sailors who had taken a bad option, blessed the wise decision of the race Committee and his PRO George Sklavounos. The start of the first race was given again in light conditions and small chops. The left side was again favoured. Jaap Zielhuis shared the lead with Nenad Viali until Emilios came from 4th at the last top mark to win the race. Guillaume Florent from France made his way back from a 15th place to 2nd across the line in front of Sebastien Godefroid. First Junior was Marin Misura in 20th position. The second race of the day started under Q flag and a triangle course after a clean first start. Emilios Papathanasiou was leading all the boats going to the left. He increased his lead on the reaches and the last run. After the first leg to the windward mark, the wind had soften to 12 knots. The Q flag for “free” pumping was unchanged until the bottom mark allowing the sailors to demonstrate their pumping skills!! The second major shift of the day happened on the second reach, transformed in a square run. The wind turned some more drastically on the last beat. Ben Ainslie made the most gain to finish second in front of Michael Maier and Karlo Kuret. Marin Misura, the Junior from Croatia, finished in 8th position and places 10th in the overall results. After 2 races, Emilios Papathanasiou is leading on 2 points. Recent European Champion and “Laser Multi-Medallist” Ben Ainslie is second on 8 points. Karlo Kuret from Croatia is in 3rd place overall. Current World Champion, Sebastien Godefroid is 7th. The top 3 Juniors are Marin Misura in 10th place, Jonas Hoegh-Christensen 14th and Chris Brittle 15th. The day was long and tough not only for the sailors and the Race Committee but also for the 8 Jury members who distributed 29 yellow flags! Among the 27 sailors to get penalised, Mateusz Kusznierewicz from Poland and Gasper Vincec from Slovenia collected 2 flags and had to retire from the race. Young Hungarian sailor, Bence Sipos, broke his only mast during the first race and had to stay ashore. Only one race is scheduled for Wednesday, July 24th.
	Opening Ceremony (22/7/2002)
	In the historic city of Pireus and under an almost full moon, Greek Minister of Mercantile Marine Mr. Giorgos Anomeritis launched the Finn Gold Cup 2002. After a long hot day of measurement and a short practice race, sailors and coaches from around the world joined Greek politicians and other important members of the Greek state in a memorable ceremony held in the Olympiakos FC marina. The officials welcomed the sailors and took the opportunity to congratulate the organising committee for their hard work. “I wish to thank the organizing committee and all the staff for the devotion that they have showed in organising this regatta” said Mr. Theodorakakis the chairman of Olympiakos. “ Despite the difficulties that they faced they have managed to produce excellent results so far.”Minister Anomeritis, who is also chairman of the Organising Comitee, concluded: “ I can promise you that this regatta will be the most successful we have ever hosted.” An impressive fiesta of dinner and fireworks concluded the ceremony. It was a fitting end to a successful day. CONTACT: Costis Nikiforakis, e-mail: fgc-pressoffice@ath.forthnet.gr, tel. 0030104227542
	Annual General Meeting of the FINN class (21/7/2002)
	Yesterday evening the Finn class Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held at the veranda of Olympiakos FC. There was impressive attendance of sixty five sailors from thirty countries taking part in the event. Mr. Phillipe Rogue, President of the FINN class, chaired the lengthy meeting that lasted for over three hours. Main decisions include: The re-election of the IFA board and the election of two new members The appointment of La Rochelle (France) as the city to hold the European Championship of 2004 On the technical forefront there were lengthy discussions without any major changes actually decided upon. CONTACT: Costis Nikiforakis, e-mail: fgc-pressoffice@ath.forthnet.gr, tel. 0030104227542
	The Heat is on! (20/7/2002)
	The first day of registration and measurement was completed today under the intense Athenian heat (36C). Everything went according to plan, with head measurer Mr. Juri Saraskin in charge of the procedure. “ Everything is going better than I expected ”said Mr. Saraskin. First to go through measurement was Croatian Karlo Kuret at 10:20 a.m. Until now, 15 boats have passed measurement while 10 sailors have completed registration successfully. The AGM meeting will be held today at 18:30 and will be chaired by the President of the FINN class Mr. Phllip Rogue. CONTACT: Costis Nikiforakis, e-mail: fgc-pressoffice@ath.forthnet.gr, tel. 0030104227542

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