China News Service, Shanghai, March 31 (Reporter Miao Lu) When 35 ILCA6-class sailboats and 25 J80-class sailboats trimmed their sails and returned to port, the 2024 Shanghai Sailing Open ended on March 31 at Dishui Lake. Guangdong team Chen Jiaming and Shanghai Qilang Sailing Team won the ILCA6 and J80 class sailing championships respectively.
A total of about 300 people participated in the first Shanghai Sailing Open, including 6-time World Championship champion Marcin Rudawski of Poland, and ILCA 4 gold medalist of the Hangzhou Asian Games, Weka Banu of Thailand. Top international sailing athletes such as Weka Bhanubnandh.
On March 29, the 2024 Shanghai Sailing Open was held in Dishui Lake, Lingang New Area, Shanghai. Photo by China News Service reporter Yin Liqin
As the gold medal winner in the London Olympics women's single-handed boat Laser Radial class event, Chinese star Xu Lijia served as captain this time. She formed a team for the first time to participate in the J80 class sailing event and won the runner-up. Xu Lijia said: "As a novice, I want to accumulate experience through this competition. I look forward to leading Chinese athletes to participate in international competitions in the future and fill the gaps in China's sailing projects."
Portuguese Santiago Villax Sampaio won the runner-up in the ILCA6 sailing event that day. When interviewed after the game, he wore a dragon-shaped hat as the event prize and looked very playful. He said frankly: "Before coming to Shanghai, I thought I would be sailing on a man-made lake full of high-rise buildings, and the sailing conditions would not be very good. But after these few days of racing, I was surprised that the wind was much better than expected, and the lake was also It’s big enough and in very good condition.”
On March 29, the 2024 Shanghai Sailing Open was held in Dishui Lake, Lingang New Area, Shanghai. Photo by China News Service reporter Yin Liqin
Visiting the Shanghai Sports Museum, enjoying a sailing-themed symphony concert, and interacting with sailing enthusiasts in the event village...Sampaio praised the event atmosphere of the Shanghai Sailing Open. “I heard from the organizing committee that they are working on promoting this competition to a greater extent internationally. I think this is a very good idea. I will not only continue to come back to compete next year, but I will also do my best to help this competition. The tournament is promoted in Europe,” Sampaio said.
Compared with the results, former Chinese sailing team coach and British Jon Emmett (Jon Emmett) sees the development of Chinese sailing. On Dishui Lake 12 years ago, there were only a few professional boats on the lake. Twelve years later, earth-shaking changes have taken place here. There are many masts in the yacht club, and citizens are rushing to watch the battle... "In the past, only Dianshan Lake could be used for training, but now many lakes in Shanghai are used for sailing sports." Emmett sighed.
According to Liu Xiaoma, director of the Shanghai Water Sports Center, from 2004 to 2020, the number of sailing and windsurfing clubs increased from the original 1 to more than 15. In 2021, the Shanghai Sailing and Windsurfing Association was established, and now there are more than 20 unit members.
When he saw professional athletes such as Chinese sailing athletes Xu Lijia and Zhang Dongshuang also starting to play sailing, Emmett was very pleased. "They are not just competing for gold and silver on behalf of the national team, but they are truly integrating sailing into their lives. I believe, Shanghai has fertile soil to cultivate sailing.” (End)