A long second day awaited the 228 windsurfers competing in the 2014 RSX Windsurfing European championships. The competition is being held in Turkey in the beautiful Cesme district renowned for being laden with stunning beaches. Today, as can be typical of the area, the wind was quite light during the morning so both the sailors and the race committee waited patiently for the wind to fill in before racing could get underway along Cesme Bay.[more]
Finally the thermal sea breeze kicked in and the women were first in the water. Reigning European Champion, France’s Charline Picon, had her back against the wall since yesterday’s black flag and pushed hard today to show her skill and ability. She won her first race and finished fourth in the second helping her to climb to the top of the leaderboard. London Olympic bronze medalist, Polish Zofia Klepacka put in the best performance of the day finishing with a bullet and a second place – easily securing herself a second place on the overall leaderboard.
By the time the men went into the water the wind had increased yet again and champagne conditions were expected much to the delight of the competitors in the two men’s groups. The Polish continued to dominate with Piotr Myszka securing his spot at the top of the leaderboard with teammates Miarczynski and Tarnowski following, but the defending European Champion, Greece’s Byron Kokkalanis, is currently breathing down their neck and applying the pressure for the remaining race days where some epic battles are sure to ensue.
So, the Polish Teams have managed obtain top spots on the leaderboard across all of the categories as they dominate the second day of racing here in Turkey; from the seniors to the youth classes whose championships run at the same time. All in all very positive day for the athletes representing Poland but the hard work isn’t over yet.
Tomorrow is a rest day for the fleet. A perfect opportunity for the competitors to rest and re charge their batteries before the racing continues on Thursday. The men are split into two groups – Gold and Silver, so all of the top placed competitors will be racing together in one group making way for a thrilling day of windsurfing. Be sure not to miss it!
Here you can view the video from day 2: http://youtu.be/Tdmc9Yd_WlI
Photo credits: Vincenzo Baglione
