For Mariano BENITEZ (ARG), one leg of one race of this entire Championship will stick out in his mind. In the last race, at the last windward leg, he led Wing Ho YU (HKG). Not by a great margin, but he led. As the two set off on the last leg of the Championship, YU gybed off early and Benitez watched as he picked up a little more pressure to overtake and at the finish line take the gun, and the World Championship title.
All the way throughout the week the two had battled, each leading at some point in the regatta and going into the last day, Benitez was one point ahead. The only way Yu could win the Championship was to win the last race, leaving them tied on 25 points each. A tie, which the young lad from Hong Kong broke on countback. Despite a string of Bronze medal successes, this is the first Youth World Gold Medal Hong Kong has won since Ho Chi HO in 1999.
Zofia KLEPACKA had already won the Championship in the Girls discipline before today had even started and the battle was on today for second place between Flavia TARTAGLINI (ITA) and the resurgent Blanca MANCHON (ESP). Despite a second in the final race behind Zofia. Blanca could not improve her bronze medal and must be aware that at one stage of the regatta, even that could have looked doubtful.
