The Yngling European Championships in Spain end with an incredibly close finish 7/4/08

After a thrilling Medal Race, British trio Sarah Ayton, Sara Webb and Pippa Wilson are the 2008 Yngling European Champions.

Going into the Medal Race there was only seven points between the top six boats. The bay of Blanes in Spain provided excellent conditions with blue skies and a sea breeze of about 15 knots – building up great surf waves.

After a pretty even start and a very tight first lap, four boats managed to make a small gap between themselves and the rest of the fleet. Heading towards the finish, the teams of Sarah Ayton (GBR), Sally Barkow (USA), Renee Groeneveld (NED), and Mandy Mulder (NED) were all side by side. At different points of the downwind leg, they were all Gold medallists. The Americans got the best of the surf at the end, and won the race. However, they did not get a boat between themselves and the British team, hence took silver.

Final top ten:

1. Sarah Ayton / Sarah Webb / Pippa Wilson, GBR, 53 points
2. Sally Barkow / Carrie Howe / Debbie Capozzi, USA, 54
3. Renee Groeneveld / Annenieke Bes / Merel Witteveen, NED, 57
4. Mandy Mulder / Brechtje Van der Werf / Floortje Hendriksen, NED, 61
5. Anna Basalkina / Vladislava Ukraintseva / Ekaterina Maximova , RUS, 67
6. Ekaterina Skudina / Diana Krutskikh / Natalia Ivanova, RUS, 68
7. Ulrike Schuemann / Julia Bleck / Ute Hoepfner, GER, 95
8. Anne Le Helley / Catherine Lepesant / Julie Gerecht, FRA, 102
9. Monica Azon / Graciela Pisonero / Sandra Azon, ESP, 105
10. Sofia Bekatorou / Sofia Papadopoulou / Virginia Kravarioti, GRE, 112