Gold in sight at Enoshima as Xammar and Cardona hold their nerve
Thirty-seven teams have made the gold fleet cut at the 470 World Championship in Enoshima, and heading into finals racing, Spain's Jordi Xammar and Marta Cardona are the ones to beat.
The pair posted a first and a fourth across Friday's two races, a composed return on water that offered anything but easy conditions. "It has been a very difficult second day on paper," said Xammar, who won bronze in these same waters in 2021, "but a very positive one for us. We sailed well and we're happy."
He wasn't done. "Tomorrow, with the first day of the Finals, the championship starts again. The important thing is to stay focused and be clear about the key points for the day, as we were today."
Cardona was equally measured. "After the two great days we've had, we're feeling good and strong, and we're really looking forward to continuing to do our job."
The most striking results of the day came from Germany's Malte Winkel and Bente Batzing, who posted a first and a second to sit second overall. France's Manon Pennaneac'h and Pierre Williot are third.
They've only been together three months. "We teamed up just three months ago, so we had a lot of work to do," Winkel admitted. "As it looks so far, we are not doing too many things wrong, so we are quite happy with that." For a pairing still finding its rhythm, second overall is a considerable statement.
Conditions made life hard for everyone. "It was really shifty. We had some big clouds affecting the race course," said Winkel. "Once you were into the race, it was really crazy and you just needed to try to take what you had. We managed that really well today." Several teams further down the leaderboard would likely put it less charitably.
Sweden's Anton Dahlberg and Lovisa Lindner bounced back after spinnaker damage had cost them the previous day, finishing second in the yellow fleet. Japan's Tetsuya Isozaki and Yurie Seki were third.
In the blue fleet, Xammar and Cardona took the race win. Junior team Lomane Valade and Julien Bunel continued their excellent form in second, with Hannah Bristow and James Taylor third.
Shunsui Oishi and Wako Yokota won the final yellow fleet race. Italy's Elena Berta and Giulio Cattaro took the last blue fleet race with a clear margin, and were confident explaining why. "We had a good start," the Italian team said. "Our strength is that we are not good at just one kind of wind. If we have a good start and sail well, we can get good results."
Matthew Belcher is also on the water at Enoshima. One of the most decorated sailors in 470 history, his presence draws a direct line between the class's storied past and the generation now racing for the title.
