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Ekaterina Skudina Wins Women’s Stena Match Cup Sweden

Photo : Subzero ImagesRunning in conjunction with the World Match Racing Tour event is ‘Women’s Stena Match Cup Sweden’.
Ten elite female crews are racing in Elliott 6m boats that will be used in the 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition. The inclusion of women’s match racing to the Olympic Sailing Competition has increased the profile of the women’s discipline of match racing and the ISAF World Match Racing Tour has welcomed paralleling the men’s racing with the women for Stage 5, halfway point of the 2010 Tour.

A surprise scenario developed for the women’s semi- final. The young 23 year old currently sitting at top of the official ISAF world rankings, Lucy Macgregor (GBR), was knocked out by Renee Groeneveld (NED) who sits 12 positions below Macgregor in the rankings. The 23 year old Dutch sailor was then joined in the final by European Women’s Champion, Ekaterina Skudina (RUS), who successfully defeated, Katie Pellew née Spithill.Stena Match Cup Sweden became one of the earliest match racing events to establish a women’s class back in 1999 and as a result Sweden has grown a strong national following for this ladies sport. The crowds lining the rocks watched a sunlit, emotional final where Skudina down two points took her situation square on and drove Groenenveld into a miscalculated premature start taking the final score to a nail biting 3-2.

The Russian beauty fought off Groenenveld to be Queen of ’2010 Women’s Stena Match Cup Sweden’. This comes as a blow to Groenenveld who also missed out closely on Olympic qualification for Beijing 2008 in the Yngling class which her adversaries then went on to win silver in.

For further media information visit: www.wmrt.com

 Women’s Stena Match Cup Sweden Winners

1st Ekaterina Skudina (RUS)
2nd Renee Groenenveld (NED)
3rd Lucy Macgregor (GBR)

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Now officially 'over the hill', I have been racing and sailing yachts for around 26 years now. I hate getting wet and leave the dinghy racing for someone else... I'd much rather be tanking around the cans in something big and beamy! The high point in my sailing career would be representing Team GBR in the Commodores Cup in 2008...