Match Race Rankings - 8 July 2009

It remains all France at the top of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings released 8 July, with Mathieu RICHARD replacing team mate Seb COL at the top of the Open Rankings and Claire LEROY still #1 amongst the Women.

Mathieu RICHARD‘s (FRA) recent success on the World Tour, with a second-place finish at Match Cup Sweden following a fourth at the Portugal Match Cup, propels him back into the World #1 spot he occupied for much of last year. In the Women’s Rankings Claire LEROY (FRA) will go to Lysekil later this month as the world #1 skipper in search of  third consecutive ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship.

Open Rankings

Mathieu RICHARD (FRA) is back at the top of the World Rankings, displacing his team mate Sébastien COL (FRA), whose shaky start to the World Tour season sees him tumble back to #5 in this Ranking release.

Moving up to #2 behind RICHARD is Ian WILLIAMS (GBR), the 2007 and 2008 ISAF Match Racing World Champion, followed by Kiwi young gun Adam MINOPRIO (NZL). Another rising star Torvar MIRSKY (AUS) moves up to #4 after scoring his first World Tour win at the recent Portugal Match Cup.

At the opposite end of the experience-spectrum is four-time World Champion Peter GILMOUR (AUS). The Australian skipper showed he still has plenty he can teach the new generation of match racing stars as he claimed his seventh Match Cup Sweden title last week, a win which propels him up a massive38 places to #7 in this Ranking release.

Women’s Rankings

Less than three weeks remain to the 2009 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship in Lysekil, Sweden where current world #1 Claire LEROY (FRA) will defend the title she has won for the past two years running. However this year the challenge looks tougher than ever for the French skipper, particularly from the Australians and the home Swedish skippers.

Katie SPITHILL (AUS) is without the form sailor on the circuit. Back-to-back wins at the ISAF Sailing World Cup event at Kieler Woche and then, perhaps even more significantly, on Swedish waters at the Women’s Match Cup Sweden, lift the Australian up from seventh to a career-best world #2 ranking. Team mate Nicole SOUTER (AUS) also climbs up four places from #12 to #8 after finishing as runner up at Kiel. Both skippers are sure to be gunning for LEROY’s crown when the World title battle comes around in Lysekil from 27 July to 1 August.

Also looking set to mount a strong challenge are the Swedish trio of Linda RAHM (SWE), Anna KJELLBERG (SWE) and Marie BJORLING (SWE). RAHM is yet to find her top form this season and drops two places to #4 in this Ranking release, but she’s well experienced sailing in Lysekil. In contract KJELLBERG has gone from strength-to-strength this season, following on from her break-through year in 2008. She has an excellent record at Lysekil and took SPITHILL to a fifth-match decider in the final at Match Cup Sweden. Multiple World Championship medallist, BJORLING is also showing signs of her top form. After a two-year break from the circuit, the former world #1 skipper scored an impressive win at the recent ISAF Grade 1 Troia Portugal Women Cup, consequently moving up the rankings from #101 to #43.

The next release of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings will be on 5 August 2009.

ISAF World Match Race Rankings – www.sailing.org/mrrankings