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21st WORLD FESTIVAL ON THE BEACH
Mondello – 15th –21st MAY 2006
www.wwfestival.com
Windsurf: Mistral class
KWOK FAI CHENG OVERALL WINNER OF THE EUROPEAN MISTRAL
CHAMPIONSHIPS
THE CONTINENTAL TITLE GOES TO MARCO CASAGRANDE
The last race of the Mistral Class European Championships took place
today with 3 metres of wind coming from an eastern direction and
confirmed what was outlined from the first day: the winning of Hong Kong
in the overall ranking, and the continental title won by Marco Casgrande,
who races for the Albaria Club, and who was constantly behind the Asians.
The Asians were helped by a constant light wind, an excellent athletic
preparation and from Bruce Kendall’s technical advice, who was always
precise in verifying the wind conditions before the races and who
prepared briefings for the athletes from one race to another from his
dinghy in the middle of the sea, Cheng Kwok Fai, the overall winner, and
his team mates attacked right from the first race leaving nothing to
catch up on for those behind. Amongst these was Marco Casagrande, the
Italian and European leader who decided at twenty-nine years old to take
this prestigious title to add on to his career, he has already stood out
in other windsurf races from 1990, with the junior world championships,
the European race-board, and many National championships.
Casagrande was always behind the Chinese train. In changing the results
on the European podium was the Greeks Giakas e Soloutzidakis who after
the first day made way for the young Israeli team and to Alessandro
Alberti, who was unlucky in the second last day, he had a good day today
with fifth place in the last race, thirteenth place in the overall
results and sixth in the European ranking.
Omri Hazor and Shlomi Ayubi in the ’88 and ’89 class took a silver and
bronze medal, these two athletes are important elements for Israel, they
are on the International windsurf scene. The Gold medal taken by Gal
Fridman has clearly left a positive sign for Israeli surfers.
In the women’s category, an overall victory for Chan Wai Kei, while the
European title went to the young Greek girl Anastasia Davrou who won her
battle against the Israeli Sivan Davidovich. In third place was another
Greek girl, Maria Papadaki, who beat Valentina Failla from Palermo with
only one point more.
The best youth athlete was the Chinese boy Ma Kwok Po, while Omri Hazor
takes the best European category. Davrou took the best junior category,
and Paco Wirz won the master category.
With the Mistral European Championships finished tomorrow the Sicily
Grand Prix begins, a race which has become a real classic in Mondello,
the results of this race will help build up the results in the Nation
Cup which still sees Hong Kong strongly in the lead, followed by Israel,
Greece, Italy and Korea. In this race there will be the debut of the new
Olympic table RS:X.
The prize giving of the European Championships will be given at 19.30.
Results
Press Office:
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albariapress@tin.it
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