Pauline Courtois wins WIM Series Lysekil

Lysekil, Sweden (August 11, 2018) – French skipper Pauline Courtois defeated Henriette Koch from Denmark in the final of Lysekil Women’s Match 2018 with 3 straight victories to take the title.

”Koch’s team was very good, they were no simple opponents. But we’re incredibly proud of our team’s performance,” says Pauline Courtois. “It was tough today, the wind was tricky out there but we nailed all our pre-starts.”

Courtois dominating finish was in contrast to the battle she faced after falling behind 0-2 in her semi-final match with the Swedish team of Anna Östling. Courtois is the defending champion of the WIM Series and is aiming to defend her title.

Koch was sailing in her first match racing regatta and although her team would have loved to win she is more than happy with the team’s second place in today’s final.

”All three matches were really tight where their experience helped them win,” observed Koch. “Everyone on the team is extremely competitive so it’s never fun to lose. However, we’ll leave Lysekil with a proud feeling and we are so happy that we made it to the finals.”

In the petite final, Swedish skipper Johanna Bergqvist with her team Team Bergqvist Match Racing, won the first match against Anna Östling. However, Östling and her experienced crew evened the battle and forced a third and deciding match between the two Swedish teams.

”We were really close to taking them in the first match, after that we came back to the way we usually perform and it feels good to have reached the podium,” says Östling.

Two competitions of the WIM Series 2018 have been conducted. The next regatta, which runs in Ekaterinburg, Russia next week, is also the official Women’s Match Racing World Championship 2018.

Teams were racing the Fareast 28r from August 6 to 11.

Finals
Henriette Koch, DEN – Pauline Courtois, FRA 0-3

Petite Finals
Anna Östling, SWE – Johanna Bergqvist, SWE 2-1

Semi-Finals
Henriette Koch, DEN – Johanna Bergqvist, SWE 3-2
Anna Östling, SWE – Pauline Courtois, FRA 2-3

Complete Results (team, crew, nationality):
1. Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team – Pauline Courtois, Maëlenn Lemaître, Louise Acker, Nathalie Corson, Sophie​ Faguet – FRA
2. Women On Water / Team Kattnakken – Henriette Koch, Trine Bentzen, Josefine Boel Rasmussen, Lærke Ilsøe Nørgaard, Lærke Marie Sørensen – DEN
3. Team Anna – Anna Östling, Annie Wennergren, Linnéa Wennergren, Marie Berg, Annika Carlunger – SWE
4. Team Bergqvist Match Racing – Johanna Bergqvist, Isabelle Bergqvist, Johanna Thiringer, Ellinor Hansson, Anna Sundberg – SWE
5. New Sweden Match Racing Team – Claire Leroy, Louise Kruuse af Verchou, Klara Ekdahl, Frida Langenius, Malin Holmberg – FRA
6. L2 Match Racing Team – Marinella Laaksonen, Daniela Rönnberg, Camilla Cedercreutz, Roosa Wederhorn, Eva-Lotta Hokkonen – FIN
7. Swiss Women Match Racing Team – Alexa Bezel, Fiona Testuz, Manon Kivell, Louise Thilo, Nicole Bolliger – SUI
8. Team Sköna Vibbisar – Antonia Degerlund, Carla Westersund, Janina Hallberg, Disa Långström, Lisa Gerkman – FIN
9. ProKaTeam Sailing Team – Ekaterina Kochkina, Tatiana Suslova, Natalia Noga, Sara Edholm, Ann Johnson – RUS
10. Matchmoiselles by Normandy Elite Team – Margot Vennin, Marie Zugolaro, Clotilde Ponçon, Juliette Dubreuil, Sophonie Affagard – FRA
11. Swedish Women’s Match Racing Team – Sanna Mattsson, Niki Blässar, Therese Berg, Louise Lindkvist, Nellie Lindnér – SWE
12. Athena Racing – Octavia Owen, Ruby Riggs, Hebe Hemming, Amber Riggs, Pip Benson – GBR

WIM Series – Event details – Facebook

Standings in WIM Series 2018 after two events (team, skipper, nationality, points):
1. Team Kattnakken / Women On Water, Trine Palludan / Henriette Koch – DEN, 47
2. Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, Pauline Courtois – FRA, 45
3. Team Bergqvist Match Racing, Johanna Bergqvist – SWE, 40
4. L2 Match Racing Team, Marinella Laaksonen – FIN, 32
5. Team Sköna Vibbisar, Antonia Degerlund – FIN, 24
6. Team Anna, Anna Östling – SWE, 20
7. New Sweden Match Racing Team, Caroline Sylvan / Claire Leroy – SWE / FRA, 16
8. Team BAAM!, Allie Blecher – USA, 16
9. Matchmoiselles by Normandy Elite Team, Margot Vennin – FRA, 14
10. Swiss Women Match Racing Team, Alexa Bezel – SUI, 12
11. NZ Match, Celia Willison – NZL, 12
12. Stockholm Match Racing Team, Sanna Häger – SWE, 10
13. Swedish Women’s Match Racing Team, Sanna Mattsson – SWE, 10
14. ProKaTeam Sailing Team, Ekaterina Kochkina – RUS, 8
15. Team Skogman, Jassi Skogman – FIN, 8
16. APCC Women Sailing Team , Margot Riou – FRA, 6
17. Athena Racing, Octavia Owen – GBR, 5
18. Peregrine Racing, Hanna Ericksson – SWE, 5

Background:
The Women’s International Match Racing Association (WIMRA) was formed in 1996 and is an international association of women sailors whose mission is to expand and strengthen global match racing and promote opportunities for competitive women’s sailing at every level.

WIMRA created the first and only professional sailing series for women in 2013 – the Women’s International Match Racing Series (WIM Series). The WIM Series delivers a global circuit of competition to test the world’s best sailors in a format of round robin and knock-out matches.

2018 WIM Series Schedule
June 25-29: Helsinki Women’s Match – Helsinki, Finland (J/80)
August 6-11: Lysekil Women’s Match – Lysekil, Sweden (Fareast 28r)
August 14-18: Women’s Match Racing World Championship – Ekaterinburg, Russia (Ricochet 747)
October 30-November 3: Swiss International Women’s Match – Ascona, Switzerland (J/70)
November 29-Decenber 2: Carlos Aguilar Match Race – St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (IC 24)

Source: WIM Series