Lanzarote iQFOil Games 2023: D4, domani Medal Series

Posted by RIWmag on 27 Jan 2023 /

Grand finale scheduled at the iQFOil Games in Lanzarote
The penultimate day of racing in the waters of the Canary Islands ended with all scheduled regattas completed once again. The first 10 will compete in the Medal Series. Sam Sills (GBR) and Sharon Kantor (ISR) went straight to the final and both have already secured a place on the podium in this first key event of the iQFoil season. The Lanzarote iQFOil Games are coming to an exciting conclusion on Saturday.

Marina Rubicón (Lanzarote, Canary Islands), 27 January 2023

Another great day of foiling windsurfing in the Canary Islands. The Lanzarote iQFOil Games saw the fourth, penultimate day of competition run in slalom format, Explosive and super fast races – Each heat lasts approximately 4-5 minutes – during which it is essential to stay at maximum speed and not slow down or fall. The women competed in four other races (W/L) with approximately 20 knots of wind and gusts of 24 nodes, while men have completed three (W/L).

There are no changes in the provisional women's podium, led again by Sharon Kantor (ISR), Pilar Lamadrid (ESP) and Katy Spychakov (ISR). The three riders won their respective slalom races and are now well ahead of everyone else., especially Kantor and Lamadrid. Both have so far been a class apart, But for tomorrow everything is open, as Lamadrid and Spychakov have yet to secure their place in the Final. The athlete who crosses the finish line first will be the winner of this edition of the Lanzarote iQFOil Games.
"This morning we went out into the water and the wind was quite light, So I was preparing for the slalom actually. At first the wind started to rise and we don't usually do slalom in windy conditions, So it was quite difficult and not easy to go full power, So I'm really happy to win it ” said Spychakov.

With five Israeli windsurfers in the top 10 (female), There is no doubt about their strength and depth. Shahar ZUBARI, bronze medal RS:X in Beijing 2008, He has been the coach of the Israeli women's national team for a year. For him, The key to this good performance is precisely the good weather in their country along with the strong history in sport.: "It's like the Canary Islands. We have summer almost all year round, we can train all year round, We have a good training base and there is a tradition for this sport”.
And they've built a truly formidable team.: "We have a strong team., And I think that's basically our strength.. They are doing a great job pushing each other every day on the water and that's the most important thing.. For them it is a difficult challenge because at the Olympics of the 2024 in Paris there is only one place for an Israeli windsurfer, So there is an uphill battle for who will take this ticket, so that's our goal to put a really strong candidate to win a medal at the Paris Olympics.".
(Click on chart to enlarge / desktop only)

Goyard (BETWEEN) and Omer (ISR) win the slalom.
Olympic runner-up in Tokyo, 31-year-old Thomas Goyard (BETWEEN), and Israel's Yoah Omer won their slalom races, but their victories are not enough to move to the Medal Series.
"I won the slalom regatta, so it was nice. There was a lot of wind and there were many calls about the first fleet”, explained the French. "Then I did first in my heat, so I'm really happy. Later, We have competed on 3 routes with very unstable and windy conditions.”

Sam Sills (GBR), leader in Lanzarote from day one, managed to go directly to the Final, even though he hadn't had his best day: (DNC/43)-(31)-12-1. Reigning iQFOil World Champion Sebastian Kördel also (GER) manages to enter the Medal Series starting from 10th place.
The top 10 male is rather tight with the first seven all very close, so it will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow in the Medal Series..

Tomorrow, Medal Series
The last day of the Lanzarote iQFOil Games will start at 14:30 Cet, the first 10 compete in the Medal Series. From the 4th to the 10th of the series will compete in the quarterfinals and the first 2 will advance to the semi-finals, where they will meet the 2nd and 3rd of the series. The first 2 of the semi-final will advance to the final to meet Sills and Kantor and compete for the championship title.

The Lanzarote iQFOil Games awards ceremony is scheduled for the 18:00 Cet.

This international event organized by Marina Rubicón with the support of the Royal Canaria Sailing Federation is possible thanks to the institutional sponsorship of Promotur Turismo de Canarias with the financing of the REACTEU and Tourism Fund of the Cabildo de Lanzarote through the European Sports Destination sports contribution managed by SPEL-Turismo Lanzarote, as well as the public collaboration of the Municipality of Yaiza and the private entities Dinghycoach, Armas Ship & Cabrera Medina (Cicar).

Provisional overalls. iQFOil Women. Day 4.
1. Sharon Kantor (ISR), 2+2+1+2+(8)+2+1+1+1+1+(27)+(6)+1+1+1+1+1+2=19
2. Pilar Lamadrid (ESP), 1+1+6+1+(17)+1+2+2+2+2+3+(20)+1+2+2+3+4=27
3. Katy Spychakov (ISR), 3+3+2+(13)+9+4+3+3+(37)+11+1+1+1+(13)+12+6+5=64

Provisional overalls. iQFOil Men. Day 4.
1. Sam Sills (GBR), 1+1+1+1+1+1+(11,5)+(11,5)+5+4+1+1+(DNC/43)+(31)+12+1=30
2. Nicolas Goyard (BETWEEN), 2+(13)+6+(8)+1+1+1,5+1,5+2+2+(30)+15+9+3+13+(20)=57
3. Tom Causes (ISR), 1+6+1+(19)+(20)+6+3,5+3,5+7+1+11+7+(23)+10+1+(19)= 58