Marta Cardona of CNA climbs to provisional third place at the 470 European Championship in Vilamoura

The Spanish crew moved up from fifth to third place after the second day in Vilamoura, with Silvia Mas and Alejandro de Maqua remaining in the Top 15.

Spain’s pre-Olympic sailing team continues to make progress at the Mixed 470 European Championship being held off the Algarve coast in Vilamoura, Portugal. After the second day of racing, and with the qualifying series now completed, Mallorca’s Marta Cardona, from Club Nàutic s’Arenal, and Jordi Xammar have moved into third place on the provisional podium. Their teammates Silvia Mas, also from CNA, and Alejandro de Maqua are currently 12th in the European standings and 13th overall.

Tuesday, 10 March, was marked by variable conditions and technical races, with northerly and northwesterly winds creating a demanding racecourse, with numerous tacks and races shorter than usual, lasting around 40 minutes.

A mixed day for the defending European champions and reigning world champions, Jordi Xammar (RCN Barcelona) and Marta Cardona of Club Nàutic s’Arenal. In the first race of the day, Marta and Jordi secured an excellent second place, finishing just a few seconds short of victory. They sailed at peak speeds of more than 11 knots, although in the second race of the day they finished 21st, a result they are able to discard. That allows them, for the time being, to avoid suffering too much from that placing and to move up two positions in the standings.

With gold four points ahead of the Spanish crew and silver just two points away, the provisional lead in the championship is still held by Italians Giacomo Ferrari and Alessandra Dubbini, followed by Britain’s Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris.

The other Spanish pre-Olympic crew in Vilamoura, made up of Silvia Mas, also from CNA, and Alejandro “Tano” de Maqua (CN El Balís), is now 12th in the European classification and 13th overall, after posting scores of 9-(UFD).

The third Spanish crew competing, Paula Laiseca (RCN Gran Canaria) and Pablo Llorens (RCN Coruña), recorded a 12th place finish in the second race of the day and now sit 35th in the European standings and 42nd overall.

With the five races of the qualifying series completed yesterday, the 470 European Championship continues tomorrow, Wednesday, in Vilamoura from 13:00 local time (14:00 in Spain), with the start of the final series. These will consist of a maximum of seven races, with the fleet divided into Gold Group (the top 25 crews) and Silver Group. The competition will conclude on Saturday the 14th with the Medal Series, reserved for the ten best crews at the continental event.

The work of the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation and its national teams, including the pre-Olympic team and the 2032 team, is made possible thanks to the support of a strong network of institutions and companies committed to sailing, the sport that has delivered the most Olympic gold medals to Spain.

The RFEV is sponsored by Iberdrola, Quirónprevención, and Loterías y Apuestas del Estado. Its institutional sponsors are the Higher Sports Council, the Spanish Olympic Committee, and Universo Mujer, together with the Port Authority of Santander and the Government of Cantabria (through the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport, Deporte Cantabria, and the Regional Society for Culture and Sport). Official suppliers include Azul Marino, Nippon Express, Murimar Seguros, Marinepool, and Enovis, while ADESP and World Sailing are listed as institutional partners.