Windsurf / Press Release n.10  7 May 2005

XX Edition World Festival On The Beach
Palermo Mondello 11-22 May 2005

"BIMBA", THE BRASILIAN WHO LOST THE GOLD MEDAL IN ATHENS IN THE LAST REGATTA, IN MONDELLO TO WIN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Ricardo Winicki Santos, "Bimba", is arriving in Mondello to play the role of one of the main protagonist in Mistral World Championships to be held in Mondello from the13th to the 20^th of May.
Born in Rio de Janeiro on the 8th of May 1980 and winner in the Mistral class of the Panamerican Games in Santo Domingo in 2003, the brasilian athlete was very near in winning also the Olympic Games in Athens last year before finishing in a very amazing way coming in at fourth place in the last unlucky regatta due to an unstable Meltemi in the Agios Kosmos Bay.
After having reached the top of the ranking in the first days of the olympic regatta, Ricardo Santos had just to control the other competitors such as Gal Fridman, the israeli who was conquering many positions.
On 25 August, Ricardo Santos, already passed by Fridman who would have won his first gold medal in Olympic Games for his country,he needed to finish this last race among the first sixteen positions to conquer a medal.
But wind and destiny had decided in a different way and Ricardo Santos finished that last race in the 17th position, obtaining only the 4th place in the final ranking of his second Olympic Games (in Sydney he finished in 15th place).
After this unlucky but good performance, today Santos is going to be considered here in Palermo one of these athletes who race to win the World Championship.