Top sailors are closing the gap at the 2022 Arkas Optimist World Championships for Fınal Day

The Bodrum sea breeze did not disappoint today as it produced almost perfect sailing conditions on the second day of the Championship Series. Another two races were compelted and it was close racing across all fleets.

Today's stronger winds has shaken up yesterdays standings.  Danyil Mykhailichenko (UKR) had a tough day finshing further back in the fleet. Although he is still in 1st place overall, his 11 point lead has been reduced to 5 points.  Henric Wigross (SWE) leapfrogged from 5th overall yesterday to just 5 points behind the leader and is now 2nd place overall.

Third overall is James Pine moving up from 4th place yesterday and is just 3 points behind 2nd overall. Another big gain on the day was Eric Scheidt (LTH) who jumped  from 8th to 4th overall with 67 points.

Dropping from 2nd overall yesterday to 5th today was Francesco Carrieri (ITA) with two 24th place finishes.  A couple good races tomorrow could see him back on the podium.

Another big move in standings today was 2012 Asian & Oceanian Champion, Weka Bhanubandh with 3rd & 5th places today. He had a tough start to the regatta but is coming on strong towards the end and is one to look out for going into the final day.

Gil Hackel from the USA also had a spectacular day finishing in 1st and 2nd place in the gold fleet.  Clearly the sailing conditions were to both Hackel and Bhanubandh’s liking. Unfortunatley Hackel had a really tough day yesterday with finishes of 61st and 59th which has put him back in 20th overall today.

Rounding out the top 10 on the leaderboard is Sviatoslav Madonich (UKR) who dropped from 3rd and is lying in 7th place overall.  He is followed by Malcolm Dahlberg (SWE) in 8th and Victor Loof (NOR) in 9th and Aksel Berg Madsen in 10th. There are 4 boats in the top 10 from Scandennavia, plus 2 from Urkraine and 1 each from USA, LTU, and ITA.

In the Top 3 girls' category, Greece's Chrysoula Kanellou Kokkinaki (GRE) leads the pack in 24th overall, followed by Medine Havva TATLICAN (TUR), moving up to girls' second place in 30th overall place and Brazil's Joana FREITAS (BRA) in third with 53rd overall place.

The same winds as today are expected tomorrow, so it will be an intense and toughly fought battle for the top positions tomorrow.

Two race are scheduled for tomorrow. Keeping the nerves under wraps and sailing consistanctly will be the secret ingredient for success on the final day of whatever fleet that a sailor in racing in.  Tomorrow we will determine who will be crowned the new 2022 Arka Optimist World Champion.

To see the full Race Results, go here.