Greek sailors Afroditi Zeiher and Giorgos Kavvas secured fifth place at the 470 mixed World Championship in Japan after a strong regatta performance.
The Greek boat finished fifth out of 74 entries representing 28 countries. The result came despite the duo training together for only two and a half months before competing against the top sailors in the world.
Zeiher is an established sailor with extensive experience as one of the top competitors in the 470 class, while Kavvas previously won a European championship in the 420 class. The 470 class is a two-person monohull dinghy used in Olympic sailing competition, featuring a mixed-gender crew format.
Race results and Olympic qualification
Across the nine races held during the championship, the Greek boat recorded finishes of 23rd, 2nd, 11th, 9th, 4th, 6th, 11th, 3rd, and 3rd. The crew discarded their 11th place finish in the third race as their worst result of the regatta.
Greece also finished fifth overall in the national standings. The performance means it would take a major surprise for Greece not to be represented in the class at the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Youth sailors lead in Denmark
In Denmark, Hermione Gkika established a strong position for a medal at the ILCA 6 Youth World Championship in Aarhus. Following the sixth race, the reigning world champion holds first place among 122 boats with five points.
Gkika finished eighth in the opening race, which she discarded as her worst result, before winning all five subsequent races. The performance leaves her as the favorite to return to the podium.
Aarhus is Denmark's second largest city and a prominent international venue for competitive sailing events. The ILCA 6, formerly known as the Laser Radial, is a single-handed dinghy featured in youth and Olympic competitions.
Junior category standings and overall fleet
In the under-17 girls category at Aarhus, Kalliopi Gkari sits in 12th place, while Mikaela Melaniti holds 13th place.
In the boys division, Konstantinos Portosalte occupies 9th place with 22 points in a fleet of 306 boats. His race finishes stand at 6th, 2nd, 5th, 7th, 10th, and 1st, with the 10th place result discarded.
The ILCA 6 Youth World Championship has drawn a combined fleet of 428 boats representing 45 countries.
