Sailor Richard Schultheis triumphs in EuroCup series in Lake Garda

Malta Young Sailors Club duo Richard Schultheis and his sister Antonia Schultheis ended an excellent summer of competition with more success at the 29er EuroCup, hosted by Fraglia Vela Riva last weekend.

Last weekend’s race was the final leg of the EuroCup series held on the continent this summer and the last major event since the Europeand and world championships were both cancelled due to COVID-19.

Richard Schultheis continued to enhance his reputation as one of the rising stars of the sport when topping the event alongside his partner Max Korner.

The sailing event was held in varied wind conditions. Sailors had five to six knots on the opening day but then it went up to 20 knots on the second day.

Unfortunately, the third day of racing was scrapped due to heavy and persistent rain as well as lack of wind.

But not all was lost as the organisers managed to host the fourth and final day in perfect conditions with 16 knots of wind and sunshine.

Richard Schultheis had led the competition right from the start but on the final day of competition he faced the stiff challenge of Tangi Le Goff, who alongside his partner Youenn Bertin, engaged in some thrilling racing with the Maltese sailor.

In fact, Schultheis topped the ninth regatta ahead of Le Goff, with the Frenchman coming out on top in race 10 and 11.

But that didn’t have any effect on Schultheis’ victory chances as the Maltese sailor topped the overall standings with a net score of 23.

Le Goff placed second overall on 32 net points while Slovakia’s Rok Verderber and Daniel Cante completed the podium on 53 net points.

Antonia Schultheis, flanked by racing partner Ole Ulrich, also achieved an impressive result as the young Maltese sailor finished in fifth place on 75 net points and also placed first among the female competitors in the regatta that featured 61 sailors from all over Europe.