Optiorange Valencia concludes qualifying series with Greek Panagopoulos leading overall

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Optiorange Valencia 2024

Real Club Náutico Valencia, Spain

Valencia, March 1st, 2024 – With only one race completed due to unstable winds ranging from 2 to 18 knots, the committee managed to conclude the qualifying series. This allowed the final series to commence, featuring the top 102 sailors in the gold group, while the remaining four groups comprised 101 sailors each.

Following the fourth race, provisional overall standings saw significant changes, although Greek sailor Iason Panagopoulos (NOK) maintained his lead in the yellow group with 4 points, securing a second-place finish in the latest race.

Notable shifts occurred further back, with the provisional silver shared between Gustavo del Castillo (RCN Gran Canaria) and Catalan sailor Juan Lleonart (CN El Balís), both with 6 points. Del Castillo, competing in the red group, finished the day in 3rd place, while Lleonart, sailing with the blues, secured 2nd place in the sole race of the day.

In the women's race, Greece's Maria Anna Makri (NOK) retained her lead despite dropping to 4th place overall. Makri accumulated 7 points, trailing Ukrainian Olha Lubianska (Optimist Way/JK Split/Obolon SK) by 2 points, who sits in 5th place. Isabella Calzadilla from Puerto Rico holds the provisional bronze with a total of 17 points, tied with Sweden's Hilda Wallström (Sopraventus HPT/KKKKK), who finished 6th today.

Among the sailors from RCN Valencia, Pablo Lopez leads the table with 45 points, while Marta Ferrando is the top-ranked Valencian woman, amassing a total of 55 points. Both are competing in the gold group alongside Alexandra Wang, Romina Vicent, Sole de Tomás, and Lucia Pascual.

The first of the two days of the final series commences tomorrow, featuring three scheduled races with the first starting at 11:30 am. The fleet will set course to the race area at 10:15 am.