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The double Olympic medallist, Iker Martinez, will defend the Nacra 17 European crown in Barcelona, in a championship that brings together 42 teams from 23 countries and three different continents, including up to 13 Olympic medals and over 50 World and European podiums. On board the Movistar catamaran, this time Inker’s crew will be Julia Rita from Menorca, a triathlete who returns to Olympic sailing and is aware of the high level of the Nacra 17 European fleet. The championship is being held at the Barcelona International Sailing Center (BISC), and the official racing will start tomorrow and will finish on Saturday the 3rd.
Martínez and Rita have six days ahead of tough competition, with very strong rivals as Italians Vittorio Bissaro and Silvia Sicouri, second in the world ranking and current European runners-up; Australians Darren Bundock and Nina Curtis, who between them add three Olympic medals; French Franck Cammas and Sophie de Turckheim, and New Zealanders Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders, fourth in the World Cup which took place last July in Aarhus (Denmark). As well, we can’t forget the other Spanish team, formed by Fernando Echavarri and Tara Pacheco: he is the last catamaran Olympic champion, and she won the European gold last year with Iker Martinez.
Marina Lopez, Iker Martinez’s usual crew, who last July managed to qualify Spain for the Olympics at the World Cup in Denmark, will finally stay on shore to concentrate on her physical preparation. In order to avoid losing training hours before Rio 2016, Martinez sailor has chosen Julia Rita, who already knows what an Olympic preparation is since she competed with Marina Gallego in 470.
The Nacra 17 European championship officially starts tomorrow, Monday, September 28th, and will run until Saturday, October 3rd. The first race every day is scheduled to start at 12h00. The last day is reserved for the Medal Race, the grand finale for the best crews only.
