Three Scots in 470 European championships

Thursday 28 June 2012

Three Scots will be among the competitors in the 470 Open European Championship which start off Largs today.

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Anna Burnett, from Helensburgh, and Flora Stewart, from Edinburgh – crew-mates and silver medallists at last year's European Junior Championships, and bronze medallists in January's 470 Junior World Championships – will compete in the women's event. David Kohler, from Edinburgh, who partners Dorset-based Phil Sparks is in the line-up for the men's/mixed category.

Kohler and Sparks will face tough competition, with the bulk of the men's Olympic 470 fleet competing in a final showdown ahead of the London Olympics. Among them is the formidable Croatian pair Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic, defending European champions and ranked No.2 in the world. Canada's Luke Ramsay and Mike Leigh, the Greeks Panagiotis Kampouridis and Efstathios Papadopoulos, Portugal's Alvaro Marinho and Miguel Nunes, and Russia's Mikhail Sheremetyev and Maxim Sheremetyev will also compete at the competition.In the women's event, the Germans Annika Bochmann and Elisabeth Panusckha arrive fresh from victory at the ISAF Sailing World Cup event in Kieler Woche. Croatia's Enia Nincevic and Romana Zupan are also in the fleet alongside Tina Mrak and Teja Cerne of Slovenia.More than 50 crews will race in the channel between the mainland and Cumbrae, with a total of 13 races scheduled for each fleet – men/mixed and women – over seven racing days. The final medal race showdown next Wednesday will pit the top 10 teams from each, going head-to-head in a double-points race."I have done more sailing in Largs than anywhere else, so I know there is a home advantage," said Kohler. "Largs is well known for its changeable wind conditions and I'm sure we will see a variety of those throughout the week: everything from sunshine and a light breeze to rain and strong winds. Phil and I don't have a favoured wind strength so that will suit us fine."Stewart has acknowledged that competition will be fierce, with little room for error. "We haven't competed in a [senior] Europeans before. It's a lot more competitive. It's more about who makes the tiny mistakes and that is often us at the moment, but it won't for long," she said."It's good experience to race with the top guys, especially the past year when it has mainly been the Olympic athletes competing.

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Three Scots in 470 European championships

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