Faustine Merret ahead of the men at Carnac

13/06/2023

The European Windsurfer 2023 Championships came to a close on Sunday 11 June in Carnac, Brittany, France after 4 days of competition in the Bay of Quiberon. 145 competitors, representing 9 nations, took part, including some of the leading figures in French sailing, such as Franck David, Patrice Belbeoc'h, Jean-Pierre Kelbert and Frédéric Duthil, not forgetting Faustine Merret, the overall winner in all categories!

A major continental event of the season, the European Windsurfer Championships took place from 7 to 11 June, organised by the dynamic and efficient team at the Carnac Yacht Club. After a light wind on Thursday and Friday, with few races underway, the anemometer finally picked up on Saturday, with 8 to 10 knots of breeze and plenty of sunshine. After 3 races in the morning, the race directors opted for the slalom format for all categories, an event which ended in the early evening.

The final day of competition on Sunday ended on a high note, with sunshine and a wind of between 8 and 10 knots again, allowing all the competitors to be launched onto the same starting line for the long 5-mile distance. And in a Windsurfer class where women and men generally race together, it was Faustine Merret, gold medallist at the Athens Olympics in 2004, who won this final race of the week! The day's other winners were Federico Longo in the youth category, Nicolas Mallaret in the lightweight category, Frédéric Duthil in the mediumweight category, Frédéric Bonneau in the heavyweight category and Antony Lecadre in the super-heavyweight category.

In the final overall classification of these European Championships Windsurfer, Faustine Merret finished first in the women's category and in the overall classification for all categories, ahead of Frédéric Duthil and Franck David. To mark the occasion, she was presented with the prestigious Prix du Président de la République by Pascal Bolot, Prefect of Morbihan, in recognition of her exceptional performance. At the end of this long weekend of competition, the other winners of these European Windsurfer Championships were Federico Longo in the youth class, Nicolas Mallaret in the light class, Frédéric Duthil in the medium class, Franck David in the heavy class and Benjamin Tillier in the super-heavy class.
Scott McKercher, who came all the way from Australia to take part in the event, was crowned PWA World Wave Champion in 1999. Like many of his fellow competitors, McKercher made his debut on a Windsurfer, a class that is enjoying a second youth as the months go by and competitions are held all over the world!