Fernando Echavarri and Tara Pacheco (ESP) gave the home fans something to cheer about as they claimed a deserved Mixed Multihull, Nacra 17, gold medal after a second-place finish in the Medal Race.
The Spaniards finished out of the top three just once this week with their worst result a fourth. A top nine finish in the Medal Race would guarantee them gold and they sailed with relative ease, coming through in second, and were full of smiles ashore after racing for a variety of reasons.
“It’s been fantastic,” exclaimed Echavarri, Beijing 2008 Olympic gold medallist. “It’s not typical that we can sail at home with our families and everybody involved in our project around us.
“It’s really emotional to be here and this win is for them.”
John Gimson and Anna Burnet (GBR) followed behind the Spaniards to confirm silver but the real drama came in the fight for third. Ben Saxton and Katie Dabson (GBR) won the Medal Race and overhauled Italy’s Ruggero Tita and Caterina Marianna Banti who finished in seventh.
The regattas is the final major event in the ‘C-Board’ configuration of the Nacra 17. On June 26th the first Full Foiling boats will be delivered to 45 of the worlds best Nacra 17 teams. They will have a 5 week sprint for training before the 2017 European Championship in Kiel.
Echavarri and Pacheo will be looking to continue their string of victories into the next era!
Watch back all of today’s Medal Races here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADw68mHQkR4
