By Michael Pavitt

Philipp Buhl of Germany overcame Britain's Nick Thompson' one point advantage to win the men's laser ©ISAFThe International Sailing Federation (ISAF) World Cup in Miami drew to a close as several week long battles come to a definitive end, with the medal races proving to be decisive in separating competitors in several classes.


The laser radial class has proved to be one of the most tightly fought contests at the regatta as Anne-Marie Rindom of Denmark, Marit Bouwmeester of The Netherlands and Belgium's Evi Van Acker entered the medal race with just three points separating the trio.

Anne-Marie Rindom was able to take the spoils as she finished third in the medal race, with her rivals only able to manage, resulting in Van Acker taking second and Bouwmeester third in the overall classification.

Following her victory Rindom commented that the regatta had gone differently to how she had anticipated stating that it was "much winder, much shiftier than we would call normal."

"Its very hard when you have two opponents," Rindom said of the medal race.

"You can't control both, so you have to sail to win the race, so that's what I did."

In the men's laser class Britain's Nick Thompson was defending a one point advantage over Philipp Buhl of Germany with both of them assured a place in the top two. 

But the British sailor was forced to settle for a silver medal behind Buhl after a broken vang meant that he could only finish seventh in the medal race, won by Argentina's Julio Alsogaray, and in which Australian Matthew Wearn performed well enough to earn himself the bronze. 

Anne-Marie Rindom of Denmark came on top in a three way tussle to win the Laser Radial ©ISAFAnne-Marie Rindom of Denmark came on top in a three way tussle to win the laser radial ©ISAF



While Thompson was unable to hold onto his one point advantage in the laser, Austria's Nico Delle-Karth and Nikolaus Resch were able to maintain that same lead over Australia's Joel Turner and Iain Jensen in the 49er.

"We didn't really feel the pressure because we are really happy with the way we've sailed this week," the Austrian duo said afterwards.

"We wanted to continue the nice flow we had and it worked out perfectly fine."

Similarly, The Netherlands Olympic champion Dorian van Rijsselberge was able to secure victory in the men's RS:X as he took a ten point lead into the final race and despite second placed Thomas Goyard providing him with a scare, the Dutchman's cushion proved just enough, winning the class by two points from the French sailor.

There was also action in the men and women's 470 classes but the gold medals had already been decided prior to today's racing with Britain's Luke Patience and Elliot Willis winning the men's event, while New Zealand's Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie were assured of the women's title.

Luke Patience and Elliot Willis were among several sailors who had secured gold on Friday ©Ocean ImagesLuke Patience and Elliot Willis were among several sailors who had secured gold on Friday ©Ocean Images



Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech of New Zealand were able to enjoy the knowledge that they were assured of the Miami title in the 49erFX class prior to the medal race, and Italy's pairing of Vittorio Bissario and Silvia Sicouri, had also secured gold medals in the Nacra 17 class.

Britain's Bryony Shaw and Giles Scott following dominant performances throughout the week in the women's RS:X and Finn classes were among the sailors to leave Miami with World Cup titles under their belts.

The next ISAF World Cup event is due to be held in Hyères, France, from April 20 to 26, with places at the World Cup final in Abu Dhabi up for grabs, as the sailors continue to build towards Rio 2016.

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