CN S'Arenal sailor Paula Barceló and Támara Echegoyen go all out in the 49er FX World Championship

Three Spanish crews, including Paula Barceló (CN Arenal) and her teammate, Támara Echeyoyen, will be in the gold fleet from today and two of them will reach the halfway point of the World Championship in the Top 5.

"Full 15" of races on the third day of the 49er and 49erFX World Championships organized by Marina Rubicón, South of Lanzarote. There have been rolls, gusts and a North-Northwest wind very changeable in intensity throughout the day yesterday, testing the skills of the more than 120 boats that today reached the halfway point of the World Championship.

It was also a day of mixed emotions, as the end of the qualifying series means that only the top 25 in each category move on to the gold group. From today the fleet will be divided into gold and silver, starting the second part of the championship with the Final Series.

The women's 49erFX fleet has completed four more races. Spain's Paula Barceló (CN Arenal) and Támara Echegoyen have made up ground, moving up six places in the overall rankings to fifth, nine points off the podium.

"It was a very unstable course, with a lot of traps, but we knew how to handle it. We are very happy, especially with the performance and for having done four races today, always fighting for the top 3," said Galician sailor Támara Echegoyen on her return to land. "The feeling is good. Now we need to recharge our batteries for tomorrow, as the championship is halfway through and there are still a lot of points at stake".

The men's 49er fleet has added three races to its lockers and maintains the provisional podium unchanged, with France, Holland and Poland in the gold, silver and bronze medals respectively.

Spaniards Diego Botín and Florian Trittel have been consistent in the three starts of the day and in the last two races they have made a comeback as the races progressed, winning the second race of the day.

With a 15-1-6 record they are fifth overall, five points behind bronze and 22 points behind silver. "The first and second have stood out in terms of points," admits Florian Trittel, "but now comes the gold group and there are seven races left before the Medal Race," he concludes.

Today begins the final phase, which tomorrow, Saturday, will decide the top 10 who will compete in the final Medal Race on Sunday.