The 2023 ILCA 4 Youth World Championships concluded yesterday after 6 days of competition in Volos, Greece.
Only one race was completed last day in the boys gold fleet. Two races were scheduled for both the girls and boys divisions, but the wind did not cooperate, and the AP flag was raised ashore. At 14:30, there was enough wind for just the gold fleets to head out and attempt their final races. The boys sailed one race successfully in about 6–8 knots, but the girls fleet was delayed by general recalls and the time limit for the last possible warning signal expired before they could get a race off. Therefore, there were no changes to the girls leaderboard.
Girl’s results – 2023 ILCA 4 Youth Worlds
Host-country Greece won both gold and silver in the girls division. Hermionie Ghicas GRE replicated her extraordinary performance showed in April at the ILCA 4 Youth Europeans in Cadiz and conquered again both the Overall and Under 16 Gold medals. Teammate Kleopatra Anastassiou GRE escorted Hermione on podium in Silver position. Alina Shapovalova UKR –recent Under 17 World champion at the ILCA 6 Youth Worlds in Poland– completed the overall podium.
Hannah Rogowska POL, double medalist at the Europeans in Cadiz –Bronze Overall and Silver Under 16–, managed to retain her U16 title while finishing in an impressive 7th position in the overall standings.
We are delighted to emphasize that European sailors dominated the top 15 positions in the general classification.
Girl’s podium
- Hermione Ghicas GRE 56 pt
- Anastassiou Kleopatra GRE 75 pt
- Alina Shapovalova UKR 82 pt
Girl’s U16 podium
- Hermione Ghicas GRE 56 pt
- Hannah Rogowska POL 140 pt
- Katrina Micallef MLT 155 pt
Boy’s results – 2023 ILCA 4 Youth Worlds
Thailand’s Weka Bhanubandh THA won the title of 2023 ILCA 4 Youth World Champion by 21 points after finishing second in the final race. North-American James Pine USA placed fifth in today’s race and secured Gold’s U16 and Silver’s Overall medals. Lorenzo Ghirotti ITA –reigning ILCA 4 Youth European champion– was also double medalist at this event, finishing third overall and second Under 16. Turkish Gunes Kurnaz Kutsal TUR replicated the Bronze U16 prize obtained at the Europeans, notably finishing in the 5th place overall.
Boy’s podium
- Weka Bhanubandh THA 46 pt
- James Pine USA 67 pt
- Lorenzo Ghirotti ITA 83 pt
Boy’s U16 podium
- James Pine USA 67 pt
- Lorenzo Ghirotti ITA 83 pt
- Gunes Kurnaz Kutsal TUR 126 pt
Next challenge: the 2023 ILCA Under 21 Europeans!
The ILCA sailing action will move now from Volos, Greece, to Stavanger, Norway, where the 2023 ILCA U21 European Championships will take place from August 6th to 13th 2023. You can read about the event and follow all the action here: https://2023-under21.eurilca-europeans.org/
Report by Agustín Argüelles – EurILCA | Photos by Nikos Zagas.
