The sailor from the Real Club Náutico de Palma, Gabriela Morell, new ILCA 4 European champion

The sailor of the Real Club Náutico de Palma, Gabriela Morell has been proclaimed absolute European champion in the ILCA 4 class that has been held in the Slovenian town of Izola.

The competition, which has brought together the 164 best sailors on the continent since April 5th, has consisted of a total of 10 races. The Balearic sailor, Gabriela Morell, obtained 53 points, which gave her an advantage of 10 over the second classified, the Greek Maria Christina Melaniti. Third place went to the Balearic Magdalena Villalonga (RCNPP).

Gabriela Morell, who also won the title in the sub16 category, said that she did not expect to win the first major international event of the season (the best result of her career so far), although she has not been off the podium since the start of the competition. "I have worked hard to win and I feel very proud", she said in statements collected by one of her coaches just after crossing the finish line in the final race. Those who were confident in her chances were precisely the RCNP coaches, who two years ago highlighted Gabriela's innate sailing qualities and her great commitment in training.

The European Championships, explained Gabriela Morell, has been quite complicated due to the unstable weather. The wind varied in intensity and direction almost every day, which forced the organizers to suspend one day. "It has been hard", confessed Marcos Plomer, RCNP coach, "and this gives more merit to Gabriela's triumph, who has always been at the top and always sailing in top 10 positions, except in one race when she could have been discarded".

Hugo Ramón, RCNP sailing spokesman, was happy with the young sailor's success and predicted a great future for her: "Winning the absolute when your category is under 16 in a class as numerous and demanding as ILCA 4 shows that we are talking about an athlete with a great projection".