Issue date
Josh Armit will be hoping they can race on the penultimate day of the iQFoil World Championships in Brest and edge his way into the top-10 standings.
The 21-year-old recovered well from yesterday's difficult day, when he was disqualified from one race and couldn't compete in another because of gear damage, to climb more than 20 places in the standings up to 13th.
He notched two race win across his four slalom races today, to go with the three he collected on the first day of racing, and sits just six points outside the top 10.
The major problem is that a weather system that some forecasters are suggesting will bring winds in excess of 40 knots tomorrow could jeopardise racing and scupper his chances of climbing into the top-10 medal racing.
"I’m definitely really keen to race," Armit said. "The worlds have already gone so quickly and I’ve gained so much experience from it.
"I managed to put together some good races together today - I really enjoy slalom racing and feel strong in that discipline - and I was really pleased to be able to bounce back and move on from yesterday.
"I know they are really keen to do a marathon because that’s the one discipline we haven’t done so far. We have raced in quite a lot of breeze before, and at the first day in Palma we were out there in 30 knots. It’s very like New Zealand here and weather patterns come through pretty quickly. I’m just prepared to race like any other day."
Veerle ten Have will also be prepared but she's safely ensconced in the top 10 of the women's fleet in seventh overall. She put together an impressive series of scores in her four slalom races today, including a race win, to move up three places overall.
"I am happy with today," she said. "It was a good, solid day, and my starts went really, really well. I was never really confident with those but we spent a lot of time over the last six weeks practicing slalom starts and I was really consistent today and had some good speed.
"I had learned a lot from the mistakes I had made in the past and didn’t make those today, except for the first race when I fell in at the last gybe mark."
Thomas Crook had a mixed day in gold fleet and is 43rd overall and Eli Liefting banked a series of top-10 results in silver fleet racing, including two third-placed finishes, and is now 67th overall.
Results and standings after day 4 of the iQFoil World Championships in Brest:
Men (162 boards)
1st: Sebastian Koerdel (GER) (15) 5 1 1 (1) 1 (2) 1 1 1 1 1 - 13 points
2nd: Luuc Opzeeland (NED) (29) 1 5 3 (25) 5 1 (36) 3 3 1 17 - 39 pts
3rd: Clement Bourgeois (FRA) (3) 3 3 3 12 4 10 (23) 3 3 (23) 3 - 44 pts
13th: Josh Armit (NZL) 1 1 1 (5) 4 32 (57 DSQ) (57 DNC) 7 1 29 1 - 77 pts
43rd: Thomas Crook (NZL) 1 13 7 (25) 42 (57 BFD) 27 (50) 39 BFD 11 27 15 - 181 pts
67th: Eli Liefting (NZL) 15 7 (27) 23 30 3 (48) (38 DPI) 9 7 3 3 - 101 pts
120th: Antonio Cozzolino (NZL) (39 DNF) 19 25 34 10 9 13 13 13 14 (22) 12 - 149 pts
Women (102 boards)
1st: Lilian de Geus (NED) 1 (35 DNC) 1 2 1 5 11 (24) (12) 3 1 3 1 - 29 pts
2nd: Shahar Tibi (ISR) (5) 1 5 2 1 4 6 (21) 5 1 1 9 (31) - 35 pts
3rd: Pilar Lamadrid (ESP) 1 1 1 1 (3) (38) 8 10 (28) 1 3 1 11 - 38 pts
7th: Veerle ten Have (NZL) 13 (19) 1 12 18 8 2 (32) 2 (13) 3 7 1 - 67 pts
- Pic: Josh Armit collected two race wins today at the iQFoil World Championships. Photo: Tasman Rowntree.
