Jonas Warrer (left) and Martin Kirketerp Ibsen, winners of the Gold medal in the 49er class in Qingdao. Image copyright Clive Mason/Getty Images.
by Yvonne Reid
Denmark’s Olympic sailing gold medalists Jonas Warrer and Martin Kirketerp are exchanging their 49´er dinghy for some serious Match Racing. After a wearing selection process and the ensuing drama in the medal race in China (which happily secured them and Denmark gold) they have decided to switch their attention to Match Racing. They have obtained one of the two wildcards to the Danish round of the World Match Racing Tour.The Danish Open will be sailed on the waters off Århus/Marselisborg from the 9th-13th September 2009.
Danish Open 2009 has issued one of its wild-card entries to two local ’debutantes’ in recognition of their acheivements at the Beijing Olympics. Olympic gold medal winners Jonas Warrer and Martin Kirketerp have been invited to ’jump in at the deep end’ and compete at the oldest event in the professional World Match Racing Tour.
”We needed to find a new motivation, a spark if you will, and Match Racing with its format is known for quick, intense competiveness –crew versus crew – where the ability to think quickly and react agressively earns results” explains Jonas Warrer. Warrer continues ”There are many challenges and we will need to learn quickly – particularly to get a crew of 5 to work together. Luckily Denmark has a very well developed Match Racing environment and so we have all the conditions required to get the job done.”
Martin Kirketerp adds with a wry smile ”We are going to have to get up very early to prepare ourselves to compete with the professionals but we know what we have to do and we will be fighting to the last – and in the time from now until September we will train, train and train up here in Århus. It is fantastic that the World Match Racing Tour -in the form of the Danish Open- is coming to Århus, it is going to bring a lot of extra focus on sail sport in the region.”
This Danish Open is organised by the Royal Danish Yacht Club in partnership with Sailing Aarhus and local government agency Sport Aarhus Events and is a part of the professional World Match Racing Tour – sailed at 10 venues across the World.
”It is fantastic that we have the sailing elite coming to Århus and even more fantastic that we can ourselves contribute with our own world class sailing stars. I am quite sure that we are going to witness a sporting event that is quite out of the ordinary on the bay here at Århus” explained councilor Jacob Bundsgaard Johansen.
The winner of the World Match Racing Tour is also crowned as ISAF´s official Match Racing World Champion. There will be 12 crews competing in Århus of these 8 are from the World ranking list for Match Racing, 2 crews qualify by winning nominated Tour Qualifier Series events and the event organisers have 2 wild card invitaions at their disposal.
Thomas Capitani Nielsen, a director of Sailing Aarhus: ”It is fantastic that we can present World class Match Racing here in Århus. Our strategy in Sailing Aarhus is absolutely to attract large international sailing events to the city, and with the Danish Open comes the World’s elite. Add to that the offering of one of the sought after wild cards to our local heroes -Jonas and Martin - and we are sure that our local spectators are going to enjoy drama and excitement with a sprinkling of Olympic gold. With the establishment of the new Match Racing Aarhus in Århus Marina our local guys will have the best traiing facilities available to them, which given the competition, they may have some use for!”
World Match Racing Tour
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