Franceâs Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink by Normandy Elite team of Maelenn Lemaitre, Louise Acker, ThĂŠa Khelif and Clara Bayol clinched victory at the 2024 Aspen Bermuda Womenâs Match Racing Regatta on Sunday, defeating Swedenâs Anna Ăstling and her WINGS team 2-1 in a tense final in very light airs.
Adding to the French teamâs success, Courtois and crew were also crowned 2024 Womenâs World Match Racing Tour Champions for the fifth time.
Courtoisâ victory in Bermuda caps an extraordinary season for the French skipper and her Match in Pink team. Their consistent dominance has solidified their place at the top of womenâs match racing, winning the Womenâs World Match Racing Tour title for an impressive fifth time.
At the inaugural Aspen Womenâs Bermuda Match Race Regatta, launched this year to help promote women in match racing, the Sunday final saw a morning of postponements and race abandonments in the light winds.
As the breeze settled just enough for Principal Race Officer David Campbell-James to start racing, Courtoisâ Normandy team were first to the scoreboard 1-0 in the shortened first-to-two-race final. Opponent Anna Ăstling and the Swedish WINGS team then equalised 1-1, forcing a final decider race which Courtois was able to etch ahead to take the event win.
âWe are very, very happy.â said a jubilant Courtois on the dock. âIt was a big achievement for us as a team and it has been an incredible year. I havenât done much match racing this year but I am fortunate to have a really good team around me.â
Ăstling and crew were dissapointed to lose out on the final race;
âWe didnât get anything for free this week and we have been fighting for our survival from the start to the end, so I think we should be quite happy with second place. Pauline was clearly better today but we gave our best and we know have a way to go to master these unique IOD yachtsâ
In the petit-final Denmarkâs Lea Vogelius finished third courtesy of a 1-0 triumph over compatriot Kristine Mauritzen.
2024 Aspen Bermuda Womenâs Match Race Regatta final standings
- Â Pauline Courtois/ Match in Pink
- Anna Ăstling/ Team WINGS
- Â Lea Vogelius/ Team Katnakken DK
- Â Kristine Mauritzen/ Those Seagulls
- Â Julia Aartsen/ Team Out of the Box
- Â Juliet Costanzo/ Easy Tiger Racing
- Â Sophie Otter/ Otter Racing
Overall 2024 Womenâs World Match Racing Tour standings (counting best 3 results)
- Â Pauline Courtois/ Match in Pink
- Â Julia Aartsen/ Team Out of the Box
- Anna Ăstling/ Team WINGS
For full 2024 Womenâs WMRT leaderboard, see https://womenswmrt.com/leaderboard/