Racing sailors Sinem Kurtbay and Akseli Keskinen opened their Nacra 17 World Cup season in second place. However, the duo do not yet know if they can take part in the summer championships. On the other hand, according to Kurtbay, only next season’s World Cup will matter.
9.4. 19:26 • Updated 9.4. 20:20
A Finnish duo sailing in the Nacra 17 class Sinem Kurtbay/Akseli Keskinen got a tasty scalp at the opening of the World Cup when it defeated a British duo who won silver at the Tokyo Olympics in Mallorca John Gimson/Anna Burnet. The British also won World Cup and European Championship gold last season.
The Finns secured second place in the medal start, where they were able to keep Gimson and Burnet at a sufficient distance and the difference between the crews narrowed by only two points. This is despite the fact that Kurtbay and Keskinen managed to capsize their boat once at the start.
The winners of the race were driven by Olympic winners Ruggero Tita and Caterina Bantiand Kurtbay thinks the pace of the Italians is still too fast for others.
– Winning the British was really important to us, because at the Olympics they and the Italians were downright untouched and everyone else competed only in bronze. The Italians are still a long way off and we have to work to get past them, but we are really pleased with the result, Kurtbay, who was reached from packaging trees in Mallorca, told Sport.
Kurtbay and Keskinen finished 13th in the Tokyo Olympic Regatta. After that, the duo finished fifth in the World Championships in November, but after a break of a couple of months, they have focused more on hard training with the bronze-winning German couple at the Tokyo Olympics. Paul Kohlhoff/Alica Sthulemmerin with. The second place in the World Cup was a great opening for them, because although they have had enough momentum in the training, there was no certainty about the pace of the competition.
– Clearly we did something right in the training that we had a really hard pace here. We knew from the workouts that we could race at the top, but in the end, this is the first time we’ve actually gotten to the podium, Kurtbay said.
A problem familiar to sailors threatens the Finnish duo’s World Championships
While there is plenty of momentum in the waters and the season started quite well, Kurtbay and Central have a problem so familiar to sailors: they don’t have enough money for the rest of the season. Only fame and glory are available from the World Cup, but no money, and currently the Finnish duo’s budget is about 20,000 euros short.
Kurtbay said with a laugh, sailing is a bad sport insofar as the more money there is, the better. The Olympic Committee will have to support both with 10,000 euros, but the duo will have to find even more private sponsors.
– We are in a really good situation at the moment, that we have really good equipment, really good boats and good masts, the sails are a little short, but they are enough for the rest of the season. We also have two of the toughest teams in the world as a training partner and a really good coach. There is skill and knowledge and clearly the ability to get results, Kurtbay listed.
– The only thing missing is getting enough money. That’s a basic problem for quite a few sailors.
With these prospects, the duo’s money will be enough until the end of June, but the Canadian World Cup in August-September, for example, is still a question mark. In July, the Nacra 17 class European Championships will also be sailing in Denmark.
Only next season’s World Cup will be the most important
On the other hand, the value competitions of this season are not as important for Kurtbay and Keskis as the World Championships competing in a year’s time. That’s when the venues for the next Olympics will be distributed.
– This year is really a bit different, because successfully value competitions are always important, but the most important race is only next year’s World Championships. This season is spent more on learning and working.
The duo will then head from Mallorca to Heyres, France, where in a couple of weeks they will be sailing a high-profile regatta of all Olympic classes. After that, Kurtbay and Central are likely to move to Santander in northern Spain to practice.
Keskinen has been on Kurtbay’s group of sailors since 2019, but became Kurtbay’s toast just before the Tokyo Olympics. With Kurtbay secured the Olympic venue Janne Järvinen was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison in a large-scale drug disorder.
If Kurtbay and Central continue to perform as well, the duo can be expected to succeed at the Paris Olympics. According to Kurtbay, a lot of work is needed to succeed.
– We just have to keep working with the pace. It was clearly really good here. Now all we have to do is make sure we stay fast. That, in turn, requires that we get good equipment, good sails, and get enough training.