Anna Ostling, who first shot to match race fame in Cork Harbour two years ago, with crew Annie and Linnea Wennergren are the 2016 Women's Match Racing World Champions. In the Buddy Melges Challenge, the third event of the 2016 WIM Series, the Swedes defeated Anne-Claire Le Berre, Mathilde Geron and Alice Ponsar of France, in a thrilling final over five matches on Lake Michigan.
Ostling took her first World Championship gold at Royal Cork YC, Iin 2014, and this year's medal is a milestone in a very successful year so far. Her Sheboygan triumph is her third consecutive WIM Series victory, after winning earlier in Helsinki, Finland, as well as in Lysekil, Sweden. With this result Team Anna stretches their WIM Series lead further, as only the regattas in Busan, South Korea, and St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, remain.
After a maternity leave of almost one year, Anne-Claire Le Berre came back to the WIM Series just for this World Championship, aiming for the final and for a medal to put around her neck. This time it's silver, but the gold wasn't very far away.
Final results:
1. Anna Ostling, Annie Wennergren, Linnea Wennergren, SWE, 25 points
2. Anne-Claire Le Berre, Mathilde Geron, Alice Ponsar, FRA, 22
3. Renee Groeneveld, Lobke Berkhout, Mijke Lievens, NED, 20
4. Stephanie Roble, Maggie Shea, Janel Zarkowsky, USA, 18
5. Caroline Sylvan, Louise Kruuse af Verchou, Frida Langenius, SWE, 16
6. Samantha Norman, Carla Holgate, Taylor Holland, NZL, 14
7. Pauline Courtois, Jeanne Courtois, Juliette Le Friec, FRA, 12
8. Nicole Breault, Molly Carapiet, Karen Loutzenheiser, USA, 10
9. Elizabeth Shaw, Madeline Gill, Malin Holmberg, CAN, 8
