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Josh Armit underlined his Olympic credentials with a seventh place at the iQFOIL European championships in Greece overnight – his second top-10 result in consecutive international regattas in only his second season as a windfoiler.
The 21-year-old Aucklander finished fourth in the quarterfinal, with one bad tack ultimately preventing him from making further inroads in the star-studded fleet.
Not for the first time this week, racing was delayed for several hours as competitors waited for the wind of close to 40kn to ease.
“We had to wait for about three hours and when they finally got racing Josh was in the pack around the first mark and he made a comeback to get up to fourth,” coach Nathan Handley said.
“Josh felt he could have been even a bit better – he had a bad tack and almost got through (to the semifinals) but he finished fourth in the end, so we’re a happy camp.
“Conditions were pretty tough out there and it was an awesome effort from Josh to go out in ninth position and finish up in seventh overall in a quality fleet. He should be stoked with his result, I know I am.”
Italian Nicolo Renna won the gold medal ahead of German world champion Sebastian Koerdel, with Dutch 2020 Olympic gold medallist windsurfer Kiran Badloe third over the line in the three-board medal race.
Josh Armit finished fourth in fresh conditions in the quarterfinal. Photos / Sailing Energy
Armit finished fourth at the Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma de Mallorca, Spain last month and was satisfied with the start to his second season on the international circuit after swapping the ILCA 6 (Laser) class for windfoiling early last year.
“It was an interesting day, waiting for the wind to die down. I went into the race with the same approach as every other day – to leave everything out on the water. It was real high-pressure racing with everything on the line and I found myself a chance to come back but, unfortunately, missed the tack,” Armit said.
“I’m still happy with managing to gain back two places and the improvements I have made since last year, but I’m also still learning a lot and I’m keen to keep pushing hard.”
Teammates Thomas Crook, Patrick Haybittle and Eli Liefting all managed their best results on the global stage – Crook finishing 12th overall with three top-10 placings in the gold fleet.
“I was happy to link together a few races and have some good days. If someone had told me I'd be 12th in the Europeans going into this regatta, I might not have necessarily believed them,” Crook said.
“To get into my first medal race would have been the icing on the cake. This regatta has highlighted some areas to work on, but it was nice to see that some of the work we've been doing over the last while seems to have helped.”
Veerle ten Have won bronze in Palma. Photos / Sailing Energy
The squad now return to New Zealand after almost two months abroad – and for Veerle ten Have that means a bit of rest before getting back to work.
Ten Have won bronze at the Princess Sofia - her first international windfoil silverware - but could only manage 25th place in Patras after struggling with conditions for the first three days of competition.
“It was a hard regatta and everyone was quick. With flat water and wind it was a bit of a speed game,” she said.
“The first three days were very windy, which I found quite hard and I was very tired. A bit more endurance in the breeze will be good.
“We’ve spent a long time in Europe and I’m looking forward to coming home and resting for a bit.”
The women’s title went to Norway’s Mina Mobekk, stunning Sharon Kantor of Israel, who had led for most of the regatta.
Kantor had to settle for silver with Britain’s Emma Wilson taking bronze.
Final results and standings at the iQFOIL European championships in Patras, Greece:
Men's fleet (114 boards)
1st: Nicolo Renna (Ita) 1 7 (13) 2 1 2 (13) 13 6 9 (BFD58) 4 13 23 3 (31) 1 17 1 - 102 points
2nd: Sebastian Koerdel (Ger) 2 (9) 2 1 (7) 3 2 5 2 (11) 1 1 1 11 1 1 8 (47) 2 - 41 pts
3rd: Kiran Badloe (Ned) 7 (9) 6 (31) 5 3 6 3 5 2 4 5 7 1 3 (9) (31) 5 3 - 62 pts
7th: Josh Armit (NZ) (10) 5 6 3 2 4 (10) 2 12 16 21 6 5 (23) 9 5 (BFD58) 1 7 - 97 pts
12th: Thomas Crook (NZ) 6 2 5 (17) (18) 9 11 15 7 5 2 16 11 19 (25) 15 (27) 22 - 145 pts
35th: Patrick Haybittle (NZ) 16 (30) 8 9 19 22 28 (30) 28 30 25 27 (BFD39) RDG32.30 25 (33) 4 9 - 282.3 pts
36th: Eli Liefting (NZ) 14 (19) 18 (22) 17 12 12 11 (BFD58) (49) 22 40 27 9 33 25 17 30 - 287 pts
Women’s fleet (89 boards)
1st: Mina Mobekk (Nor) (15) 2 6 3 3 3 10 (13) 4 8 9 14 5 25 3 (29) 17 4 (34) 1 - 116 pts
2nd: Sharon Kantor (Isr) (15) (10) 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 (27) 7 7 3 (12) 3 1 2 - 34 pts
3rd: Emma Wilson (GBR) 1 3 1 3 3 (6) (BFD46) 2 (25) 9 RDG14.40 8 13 3 1 (37) 1 2 3 3 - 67.4 pts
25th: Veerle ten Have (NZ) 8 2 7 4 (11) 6 7 (17) 26 17 32 18 (37) RDG37 27 (BFD47) 25 10 29 - 255 pts
Full results here.
