GREAT BRITAIN’S
LAW WINS SWEDISH MATCH CUP
MARSTRAND,
Sweden (July 6, 2003) – Great Britain’s
Chris Law of “The Outlaws” used a
brilliant pre-start in the fifth and decisive
match of the Swedish Match Cup finals to claim
the championship of the last event on Swedish
Match Tour 2002/2003.
“This
is a finely tuned Formula 1 engine that I’ve
had the privilege to drive this week,” said
Law of his crew of Victory Challenge sailors.
“It’s a result of the guys I’ve
had with me. Match racing is a team sport and
while at times this year I’ve been average,
these guys have made the difference this week.
Sailing
with Law at the Swedish Match Cup were Daniel
Bjorndahl, Anders Dahlsjo, Oscar Angervall and
Henrik Valderyd.
After
winning the first two matches of the first-to-three
points final, Law lost the third match after a
penalty in the pre-start and then allowed that
miscue to get him off-track in the fourth as well.
“You
gotta keep cool when a final stretches to five
matches. This is a very tricky place to sail and
we’ve sailed our own game this week, but
in the last match we went back to basic match
racing tactics,” explained Law.
“I
was actually surprised how well Chris maneuvered
in the pre-start of the fifth match, staying behind
us the whole time,” said Jablonski. “Chris
was the better sailor in the fifth race and the
better sailor won.”
This
is Law’s second win on Swedish Match Tour
2002/2003 to go along with the 2002 UBS Challenge
in Newport, RI, USA.
Jablonski’s
runner-up finish here catapulted him up the Swedish
Match Tour Final Rankings from eighth place overall
pre-event to fifth place, paying out an $US18,000
share of the US$200,000 prize purse, while Law
moved up from fifth to fourth overall.
In
the petit finals, US Virgin Islander Peter Holmberg
of Team Pelle Petterson Yachting defeated Denmark’s
Jesper Bank, a double Olympic gold medallist and
former helmsman for the Victory Challenge 2-1
to finish third in his first appearance on the
Swedish Match Tour since completing his obligations
as helmsman for the Oracle BMW Racing Team in
America’s Cup 2003.
“We’re
very happy with third place,” said Holmberg.
“We didn’t sail together for six months
after the Cup ended. It was fun to get back together
and see that we could still ride the bike.”
In
the sail-offs, Australia’s Peter Gilmour
of Team Pizza La swept past Sweden’s Mattias
Rahm of Team Stena Bulk 2-0, while Australia’s
James Spithill dispatched newly crowned Swedish
Match Tour champion Jesper Radich of Denmark,
2-1.
“When
it was decided that we won the Swedish Match Tour,
we lost some concentration,” confessed Radich.
“The key to our success this year has been
the crew. They have been very dedicated. Some
of the events we have done poorly, but we’ve
also won three events this year.”
Swedish
Match Tour 2003/2004 begins next month with the
Danish Open 2003, August 12-16. An announcement
will be made shortly regarding the full schedule
for Swedish Match Tour 2003/2004.
SWEDISH
MATCH CUP FINAL STANDINGS
1.Chris
Law, Great Britain/”The Outlaws”
2.Karol
Jablonski, POL/Jablonski Sailing Team
3.Peter
Holmberg, USVI/Team Pelle Petterson Yachting
4.Jesper
Bank, Denmark
5.James
Spithill, AUS/Team Spithill
6.Jesper
Radich, Denmark
7.Peter
Gilmour, AUS/Team Pizza-La
8.Mattias
Rahm, SWE/Team Stena Bulk
9.Staffan
Lindberg, Finland
10.Andy
Beadsworth, GBR/Team Henri Lloyd
11.Magnus
Holmberg, SWE/Team StoraEnso
12.Paolo
Cian, ITA/Riviera di Rimini Sailing Team
13.Johnnie
Berntsson, Sweden
14.Mikael
Lindqvist, Sweden
15.Ed
Baird, USA/Team Musto
16.Jes
Gram-Hansen, DEN/Team Victory Lane
SWEDISH
MATCH TOUR FINAL STANDINGS
Skipper
Points Prize Money
1.Jesper Radich, Denmark 109 US$60,000
2.James Spithill, AUS/Team Spithill 96 US$40,000
3.Jes Gram-Hansen, DEN/Team Victory Lane 84 US$25,000
4.Chris Law, GBR/”The Outlaws” 76
US$20,000
5.Karol Jablonski, POL/Jablonski Sailing Team
66 US$18,000
6.Ed Baird, USA/Team Musto 57 US$15,000
7.Magnus
Holmberg, SWE/Team StoraEnso 50 US$12,000
8.Paolo
Cian, ITA/Riviera di Rimini Sailing Team 47 US$10,000
SWEDISH
MATCH CUP FINALS (First-to-score-three points)
Flight
1
Law
def. Jablonski
Flight
2
Law
def. Jablonski
Flight
3
Jablonski
def. Law
Flight
4
Jablonski
def. Law
Flight
5
Law
def. Jablonski
PETIT
FINALS (First-to-score-two points)
Flight
1
P.
Holmberg def. Bank
Flight
2
Bank
def. P. Holmberg
Flight
3
P.
Holmberg def. Bank
SEMIFINALS
(First-to-score-three points)
Flight
3
Law
def. P. Holmberg
Jablonski
def. Bank
Sail-Offis
(First-to-score-two points)
Flight
1
Gilmour
def. Rahm
Radich
def. Spithill
Flight
2
Gilmour
def. Rahm
Spithill
def. Radich
Flight
3
Spithill
def. Radich
For
all the latest news and information about the
Swedish Match Tour, visit www.swedishmatchtour.com.
About
the Swedish Match Tour
·
The Swedish Match Tour is comprised of nine of
the world's leading professional sailing events
and is proving to be the ultimate battleground
of sailing.
·
In addition to more than US$800,000 in individual
event prize money, the Swedish Match Tour awards
US$200,000 to the top eight sailors on the Swedish
Match Tour, with the first-place skipper netting
US$60,000.
·
In addition to a US$60,000 first prize, the winner
of the Swedish Match Tour receives the official
Swedish Match Tour Championship Trophy, 15"
(30 cm) high with 22 carat gold gilding, produced
by Swedish Match Tour sponsor Wedgwood. Additionally,
Wedgwood supplies runner-up prizes for second
and third places as well as commemorative plaques
to each event organizer.
·
The Swedish Match Tour produces 155 hours of television
coverage reaching more than 427 million households
worldwide.
·
Swedish Match Tour partners include Swedish Match,
Octagon and the Match Race Association.
·
Swedish Match Tour sponsors include Colorcraft,
Champagne Mumm, Musto, Selden and Wedgwood.
