Marstrand, Sweden (1 July 2025) — A challenging southerly breeze and short three-lap course put teams to task on the second day of racing at the GKSS Match Cup Sweden and Nordea Women’s Trophy in Marstrand, Sweden. Seven-time winner of the event, local favourite Björn Hansen and team extended their lead in the qualifying round-robin races to seven wins from eight races. In the Nordea Women’s Trophy, last year’s runner-up Renne Groeneveld from the Netherlands completed her qualifying races with four wins securing her place in the quarterfinals, together with local skipper Martina Carlsson and her Beyond Sailing Team finishing their day with three straight wins.
As the opening round-robin races in the Open and Women’s class come to a finish tomorrow, every race counts crucial points to secure a spot in the second stage of the event. In the Open class, from the ten competing teams, only the top seven teams will advance to the knock-out quarter-finals stage with the winner of the round robin advancing straight to the semi-finals. As Sweden’s Björn Hansen and Johnie Berntsson, and Denmark’s Jeppe Borch and their respective teams securely through to the next stage, Wednesday’s races will be crucial for the chasing pack including USA’s Chris Poole, Switzerland’s Eric Monnin, Australia’s Zac West and Sweden’s Oscar Engström.
Photo: Rick Tomlinson
In the Nordea Women’s Trophy, with three flights remaining tomorrow, defending event champion Anna Östling and Team Wings, and France’s Pauline Courtois and the Match in Pink Normandy Team are safely through to the quarterfinals together with Renee Groeneveld/ Dutch Match Racing Team and Julia Aartsen/ Team Out of the Box from the Netherlands. New Zealand’s Celia Willison/ Edge Women’s Match has had a disappointing opening round with a single win in the round robin, her quarter-final slot resting on the results of tomorrow’s remaining races.
In a break from the racing during the afternoon, Sweden’s Anna Östling and France’s Pauline Courtois joined Paralympic sailor Fia Fielddahl, and Ambjörn Andersson in two exhibition match races sailed in RS Venture boats modified for para sailing. Courtois, partnered with Fielddahl won both races in an impressive demonstration and showcase of inclusive match racing.
Racing for the GKSS Match Cup Sweden and Nordea Women’s Trophy resumes at 0930 tomorrow with clear skies and a lighter breeze forecast.For full results, follow
GKSS Match Cup Sweden https://wmrt.com/live-results/
Nordea Women’s Trophy https://womenswmrt.com/live-results/
ABOUT WORLD MATCH RACING TOUR
Founded in 2000, the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) promotes the sport of match racing around the world and is the longest running global professional series in the sport of sailing. The WMRT is awarded ‘Special Event’ status by the sport’s world governing body –World Sailing – and the winner of the WMRT each year is crowned World Sailing Match Racing World Champion. Since 2000, the World Match Racing Tour and its events have awarded over USD24million in prize money to sailors which has helped to contribute to the career pathway of many of today’s professional sailors. www.wmrt.com
ABOUT WOMEN’S WORLD MATCH RACING TOUR
The Women’s World Match Racing Tour was launched in 2022 to continue the hugely successful legacy of the WIM Series(Women’s International Match Racing Series) providing a global match racing series for female sailors. The name of the series was re-launched as theWomen’s World Match Racing Tour with its continued mission to expand and strengthen global match racing and promote opportunities for competitive women’s sailing at every level. The Women’s World Match Racing Tour is the world’s first and only professional sailing series for women providing a valuable pathway for aspiring female world champions in the sport of sailing.See womenswmrt.com