July 3, 2024
1 minute reading time
Team GBR crowned Blind Match Racing World Champions in Sciez
Team GBR completed a stunning week of sailing in Sciez, France, to claim the Blind Match Racing World Championship 2024 with a perfect record of seven wins from seven races. The team representing Blind Sailing UK and helmed by Sharon Grennan, and featuring Lucy Hodges and Judith Spencer, and coached by Ian Shirra, led from start to finish to take the trophy.
A second team entered by Blind Sailing UK finished in second place, with an impressive record of six wins and just one loss. Helmed by Sally Rodrigues, the team of Matin Phillips and Karl Haines, under the guidance of coach Jonny Cormack, the performance capped off an excellent week of racing for the British teams.
The French team skippered by Nicolas Rondouin finished third with a 5-2 record, with compatriots skippered by Michael Aubert fourth after four wins and three losses from their seven races.
Hannah Stodel, World Sailing’s Para Sailing Manager, said, “This was a fantastic return to action for the Blind Match Racing World Championships and an epic performance from Sharon Grennan’s team. The quality of sailing on show throughout the week shows the strength of the entire Match Racing fleet, the popularity of Match Racing as a discipline and highlights the potential for the Blind Match Racing World Championship to grow as an inclusive and global event. Thank you and congratulations to all those taking part and we look forward to seeing excellent sailing in the coming months.”
Hosted by Sciez Sailing Club in cooperation with the French Sailing Federation and the National Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired (UNADEV), this was the first edition of the Blind Match Racing World Championships since COVID limitations and marked the return of the discipline on an international level.
More information about the Blind Match Racing World Championship 2024 can be found on the event website.
Images courtesy of Jean Louis Duzert and Blind Sailing International