July 15, 2004
2 minutes reading time
Six Races Completed
Six races have now been completed at the 2004 Europe Class World Championship in Italy and nine nations are represented in the top ten of the women's fleet. Only two sailors in that ten will not be back on the race course in less than a months in Athens.
Six races have now been completed at the 2004 Europe Class World Championship in Italy and nine nations are represented in the top ten of the women’s fleet. Only two sailors in that ten will not be back on the race course in less than a months in Athens.
Germany’s Petra NIEMANN tops the pile with an impressive eight points. Niemann discards a fifth place and her other results are all in the top three. Snapping at her heels in second overall is defending champion Siren SUNDBY (NOR) who, after a uncharacteristic start has taken two seconds and two bullets in the last four races. In third overall at this stage is the Czech Republic’s Athens representative Lenka SMIDOVA. Smidova has sailed a consistent series so far and apart from a discardable ninth has not finished outside the top five in any race.
Signe LIVBJERG from Denmark is lying in tenth place at this stage and looking good for a ticket to Athens. The Danish have yet to confirm their team and Livbjerg will be working hard to stay ahead of her compatriot Ditte JUUL who is just four points behind her in eleventh place overall.
In the men’s fleet Norwegian sailor Christopher GUNDERSEN is making his mark on the championship and has secured himself a nine point lead over Toke BJORNSHAVE (DEN) after six races. Gundersen has three firsts, two seconds and an eleventh to his name at this stage of the championship but the chasing pack are not far behind. Complete results are available on the event website via the link below.
Top Ten After Six Races – Women
| Pos | Nation | Name | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
| 1 | GER | NIEMANN Petra | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | -5 | 2 | 8 |
| 2 | NOR | SUNDBY Siren | -8 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| 3 | CZE | SMIDOVA Lenka | 4 | -9 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 17 |
| 4 | FIN | MULTALA Sari | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 | -13 | 21 |
| 5 | FRA | DETURCKHEIM Sophie | 7 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 3 | -37 | 25 |
| 6 | BLR | DROZDOVSKAYA Tatiana | 1 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 7 | -42 | 28 |
| 7 | IRL | COLEMAN Maria | 6 | 4 | -18 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 31 |
| 8 | USA | GAILLARD Meg | 5 | -19 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 32 |
| 9 | GER | De NIJS Christiane | 8 | -10 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 34 |
| 10 | DEN | LIVBJERG Signe | 9 | 2 | 10 | 4 | -23 | 10 | 35 |
Top Ten After Six Races – Men
| Pos | Nation | Name | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
| 1 | NOR | GUNDERSEN Christopher | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -11 | 7 |
| 2 | DEN | BJORNSHAVE Toke | 1 | (dnf) | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 16 |
| 3 | FRA | DERAND Mathieu | 5 | 5 | 5 | (ocs) | 1 | 3 | 19 |
| 4 | FRA | GACHE Jean-Christophe | -7 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 20 |
| 5 | SWE | CLAESON Arvid | 6 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | -10 | 20 |
| 6 | FRA | BAIZEZ Brice | 2 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 4 | -30 | 23 |
| 7 | SWE | CLAESON Oscar | 1 | 2 | (dsq) | 3 | 4 | 19 | 29 |
| 8 | NOR | RUTH Kristian | 5 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 7 | -27 | 29 |
| 9 | SWE | VASTERNAS Victor | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 17 | -21 | 32 |
| 10 | SWE | JOHANSSON Patrik | -16 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 34 |