A grand finale to end the week, the perfect way and a perfect day to bring these Techno293 European Championships to an end and to crown our new European Champions, with 270 young hopefuls from 18 countries having made their way to compete here at the lovely spot at the Windsurfing Club Cagliari, Sardinia.

Fittingly for this closing day the conditions were near perfect with a steady wind blowing from the south allowing all the race categories to have their busiest day yet with four rounds of racing for everyone, after the variable conditions earlier in the week.

The race committee took advantage of the final day conditions with racing starting in front of the Poetto beach. All the fleets were sent ashore after three races before they were sent out one more time for a final chance of glory. After one last race it was time to go back to the beach and prepare for the prize-giving and closing ceremonies.

With titles up for grabs, it was a very exciting week for all with a mix of countries on the podium.

UNDER 13s (7 races). It is the girls and boys racing together in the youngest of the Techno293 categories and in the end it was a close-run thing with just 2 points separating winner, Germany’s Moritz Schleicher (10 points) in his duel with the Italian Luca Pacchiotti (12), the early leader. The third placed was top girl Italy’s Medea Marisa Falcioni. Additional prizes were awarded to the youngest of the young sailing on sails not larger than 5.0 sqm.

UNDER 15 BOYS (9 RACES). A perfect four out of four victories on the final day cemented first place for Israeli Omer Shemesh, the leader since the opening day. His 8 points gave him plenty of clear water ahead of fellow countryman Adam Koussevitzky with 26, and Pierluigi Caproni, the 2021 Under 13 champion having his first experience in the Under 15 category in third.
UNDER 15 GIRLS (9 RACES). A controlled performance on the final day enabled Turkey’s Ada Tan to complete a good week’s work and win the girls title with 19 points, just ahead of Spain’s Andrea Sira Martinez Mira with 22. Two victories on the final day helped the Hungarian Hanna Simon to jump into the third podium spot.

UNDER 17 BOYS (9 RACES). Greek rider Petros Kontarinis confirmed his excellent form despite suffering a DSQ. With four straight wins to close the race series he finished on 9 points, far ahead of the Cypriot rider Vasilis Charalambous on 30, who almost lost his second place to Italy’s Giulio Orlandi on 31.

UNDER 17 GIRLS (10 RACES). An all-Italian podium and a thrilling finale in this fleet, the closest and most intense series of the whole competition. Cagliari local Teresa Medde held on to win with 28 points, having led from the first day. In a tense closing race she clung on by two lengths to seal a narrow victory over Giulia Vitali, and teammate Anna Polettini in third.
TECHNO PLUS MEN (8 RACES). With two first and two second places, Cagliari local Giorgio Falqui Cao confirmed his superiority in the most experienced division to claim the title. Behind him there was a great head to head between Cypriot rider Iakovos Christofidis and the Greek hopeful Grigorios Stathopoulos, with Christofidis grabbing second place by a single point.
In the Open sub-category, it was all-smiles for the Japanese team, with Kuragano Takumi winning ahead of Poland’s Adam Zarnowski and teammate Inoue Takashi.

TECHNO PLUS WOMEN (8 RACES). Another incredibly tight finish saw Italy’s Angelina Medde hold on for victory by less than 2 points from teammate Anita Soncini, thanks to her better finishes during the first days of competition which proved to be decisive in the end. Third was the Greek rider Emilia Kosti. Sofia Vedrune Pastor and Marion Lextray from Spain were cassified in first and second of the Open fleet with Claudia Di Francesco in third.

Full rankings, photos and videos from the Techno293 European Championship are available on the official website https://europeans2022.techno293.org/