Three medals for Poles in European Open Championships in Hansa 303 class
Disabled sailors finished the competition in Sneek, the Netherlands. The Polish team competed in both the Single and Double classes. Twenty-two crews competed in the regatta, most of whom also took part in the single-handed competition.
Racing in the Hansa 303 class took place alternately: one day for Double and the other for Single. There were 42 competitors in the latter fleet, who were divided into four groups, racing in an each-against-all system, with the top 21 helmsmen and helmwomen competing in the final.
In the Double class, the crew of Piotr Cichocki and Olga Górnaś – Grudzień stood on the highest step of the podium. Each of them also competed in the Single class. Piotr Cichocki took second place in the open classification of the European championships while also winning the gold medal among the disabled.
– It was a very difficult regatta. In the first races I couldn’t wake up and in the next races it started to unravel and it was more and more difficult, harder and harder. The one who won this regatta was simply better. I think I fulfilled all the conditions to win, although everyone makes some stumbles. Of course I have an underdog that I lost by one point. That’s why we come here, to win,’ comments Piotr Cichocki on his second place.
– The regatta was decided literally by a few centimetres in the last race, which shows how equal the races were and how much excitement accompanied them. The conditions were quite difficult. The wave was short and high, and it was additionally made by container ships passing by the course,’ added Poland’s coach Grzegorz Prokopowicz.
The 11th place went to Olga Górnas – Grudzień, 13th to Michael Dżugan and 18th to Andrzej Bury.
In the Double class, Andrzej Bury and Michael Dżugan finished the European championship in 7th position.
Link to results: RESULTS
Sailing for people with disabilities was a showcase discipline in the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, and then in five consecutive Games, from Sydney 2000 to Rio 2016, sailors with disabilities competed for Olympic medals and laurels. In 2016, Monika Gibes and Piotr Cichocki became world champions in the Skud 18 class and then finished fourth at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. In 2015, it was decided that para sailing would unfortunately drop out of the Olympic programme. Despite this, it is a sport that is growing strongly and this is what the World Sailing authorities want to highlight, having prepared and implemented an entire strategy for the return of parasailing to the Games, and the Polish Sailing Association is also actively supporting and lobbying the issue of parasailing’s return to the Olympic programme.
Source: PortalMorski.pl
