Over the last week the best sailors and windsurfers from around the world have been battling out the final placings for 2014 over in Abu Dhabi and things are looking great for the British windsurfers as Bryony Shaw takes gold and Nick Dempsey takes bronze.
More details below from the RYA:
Bryony Shaw capped off a dominant week and secured a winning end to her 2014 season with gold at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi on Sunday (30 November).
In the men’s RS:X windsurfing event, Nick Dempsey consolidated his third place heading into the final day, finishing fifth in an incredibly tight finale to secure bronze and his second international podium finish of the year.
Shaw, the Beijing bronze medallist, led the women’s RS:X windsurfing event from the outset of the four day Final showcase – the first of its kind under the revamped ISAF World Cup series – with her gold topping the British Sailing Team’s tally of four medals, with victory also going to British kiteboard racer Ollie Bridge in the invitational event held alongside the Olympic Classes.
Shaw went into Sunday’s final 10-board double points medal race with a comfortable 16 point margin over the second-placed World Champion Charline Picon. Knowing that she could finish no worse than silver, the Weymouth-based sailor controlled her French rival to finish the medal race in second place and take the overall event victory.
“I was just keeping my eye on the French girl and matching her every move, which was good fun!” said the 31-year-old of her race tactics.
“The two of us managed to get the best pressure up the first beat, rounding first and fourth – I was leading the race. One of the Chinese girls was sailing a really good race and she took the lead after the first lap. I maintained second all the way round and kept the French girl behind me.”
Shaw admitted it had been a difficult year, with a number of near misses in the medal stakes.
But she was delighted to have ended the year as she had begun it – with a gold medal to add to her victory at the Miami World Cup regatta.
“I’m really pleased to have had such a convincing win here – it’s been a tough year in that I’ve kept missing out on the podiums. I managed to win Miami back at the beginning of the year and now this being the end of the year, it’s nice to be back on top of the podium. Hopefully I can take that momentum into next season.
