Star World Championships
Varberg welcomes Star sailors from all over the world to the 2009 Star Class World Championship. And of course everyone else who enjoys top class racing on the water. Since 1922 the Star class has sailed world championships and only twice before the championship has been sailed in Sweden, 1970 and 1979 in Marstrand. During all those years only two Swedish crews have become World Champions – Pelle Petterson/Ulf Schröder 1969 and Fredrik Lööf/Christian Finnsgård 2001 and Fredrik Lööf/Anders Ekström 2004. We expect around 80 boats from 25 countries to come to Varberg to compete in the 2009 World Championship. Who will win? We don't know, but one thing is sure - the first week of August the world will see a new World Champion on the waters outside Varberg.
Many hot contenders for the Star Championship title in Varberg
Among the 97 entries to the 2009 Star Class World Championship you may find many well- known and successful crews who have gained honors in the Star Class throughout the years.
When it comes to the possibility of finally capturing the championship title, the number however gets lower and among the crews, which may be considered really strong contenders for a 2009 Gold Star we would like to present to you the following:
POL 8209 Mateusz Kusznierewicz/ Dominik Zycki
- 2008 World Champions
- 2008 Olympics 4th place
- 2005 Kiel Week Winner
Both coming from the Finn class, where Kusznierewicz won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, this pair joined up in the Star in 2005 and quickly established themselves among the top crews through impressive championship performances, already during their very first season as well as in 2006 and 2007.
Tuned up after thorough 2007 and 2008 US winter campaigns they managed to capture their first gold star at the 2008 World Championships; later that year finishing 4th at the 2008 Olympics.
FRA 8237 Xavier Rohart/ Pierre Alexis Ponsot
- 2003/ 2005 World Champion
- 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalist
Xavier Rohart was the winning Star skipper of the 2003 ISAF World Championship and the 2005 Star World Championship. Rohart sailed with Pascal Rambeau through the 2008 Olympics and the pair won the Bronze Medal at the Athens 2004 Olympics. Rohart's first Olympic appearance was in 2000 where he finished 5th in the Finn. Pierre Alexis Ponsot has campaigned the Finn Dinghy; won the European Championship in Monotypes and has won French national championships in many monohull and multihull disciplines. He also has been a member of Mathieu Richard’s winning match racing team. Rohart and Ponsot recently started sailing together and put up a great performance at the 2009 Eastern European Championships despite Rohart’s injuries suffered in a cycling accident from which he is still recovering
RL 8261 Peter O´Leary/ Tim Goodbody
- 2009 Eastern Hemisphere Champions
O’Leary jumped into the Star with Stephen Milne early in 2008 and by the summer he was steering the Irish Star at the Olympics in Qingdao. O'Leary is from the famous Irish O'Leary sailing family and he was Ireland's sailor of the year in 2007. O’Leary and Milne won the final race at the 2008 Star Worlds. O’Leary is sailing with his lifelong friend, Tim Goodbody, who sailed the Finn for the Irish at the 2008 Olympics. Together they won their first Silver Star at the 2009 Eastern European Championship in Hyeres.
SA 8267 Mark Mendelblatt/ Mark Strube
- 2006 European Champion
- 2006 Kiel Week Winner
- 2005 Bacardi Cup Winner
- 2009 Kiel Week Winners
Mark Mendelblatt among sailors is mostly known as a successful dinghy sailor where he truly has achieved merits being 4 time Optimist Dinghy US national and North American Champion, Laser II World Champion, 2 time Laser North American Champion, US College Singlehanded Champion, One World AC Challenge, Won 2004 US Laser Olympic Trials. Mark caught the sailing world by surprise when he won the 2005 Bacardi Cup in the Star Class, a boat he had only raced a handful of times. Later the same year he also managed to win the Kiel Week in Germany; a victory repeated in 2009. In 2006 he took another step on his way to the Star pinnacle by winning the European Championship.
BRA 8289 Robert Scheidt/ Bruno Prada
- 2007 World Champions
- 2008 Olympic Silver Medalists
- 2006 South American Champion
- 2007/2008 Eastern Hemisphere Champions
- 2009 European Champions
This Brazilian team is indeed a hot contender for another Gold Star. They won the 2007 Star World Championship, finished third at the 2008 Star World's in a borrowed boat and performed a fantastic medal race at the 2008 Olympics in Qingdao where they won the Olympic Silver medal. Prior to his achievements in in the Star Scheidt has gained two Olympic Gold medals and one Olympic Silver medal for his performances in the Laser at the Atlanta, Athens, Sydney Olympics, respectively.
SWE 8387 Fredrik Lööf/ Johan Tillander
- 2001/ 2004 World Champion
- 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist
- 2001/2001/2004 European Champion
- 2007 Western Hemisphere Champion
- 2006 Eastern Hemisphere Champion
Freddy Lööf this far has sailed in three Olympics where he has won the Bronze medal in the Finn in Sydney and another Bronze in the Star in Qingdao. He also is the 2001 and the 2004 Star World Champion helmsman and won the Finn Gold Cup in 1997 and 1999. Johan Tillander joined up early 2009 and has spent all spring training in the Star with Freddy. Johan was Sweden’s Finn representative at the 2008 Olympics and has had an admirable Finn career.
NZL 8187 Hamish Pepper/ Craig Monk
- 2006 World Champion
Hamish Pepper won the 2006 Star World Championship, finished 7th in Laser at the 2004 Olympics and has been involved in a number of America's Cup campaigns, currently being a member of BMW Oracle's afterguard. Craig Monk won the Bronze medal in the Finn in 1992 Olympics and captured gold at the Goodwill Games in 1994. He was part of Team New Zealand America’s Cup team in 1995 and 2000; One World in 2003; BMW Oracle in 2007 and is involved with TEAMORIGIN at the moment. The pair has been gearing up for the 2009 Worlds in Varberg sailing both the Delta Lloyd Regatta and the Europeans in Kiel.
