Ulsan PWA World Cup

Day 3: Delphine Cousin Questel Leads the Way After Opening Foil Eliminations

The early skippers’ meeting paid off on Day 3 of the 2019 Ulsan PWA World Cup with the opening Women’s Foil eliminations of the week being completed during the morning. With a small swell running and the wind gusting up to 15 knots, the racing proved to be exciting and dynamic with plenty of overtaking and drama in each of the eliminations completed. 

Foil

Women’s

Delphine Cousin Questel (Starboard / S2Maui / Starboard Foil) currently tops the event rankings after the first two eliminations in South Korea. The 27-year-old was leading the first race but dropped her gybe when in the lead, so had to settle for second place in the opener. Cousin Questel then produced a superb gybe to move from third to first in the second elimination and wouldn’t make any more mistakes to secure her first bullet of the event. 

Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL), who finished 3rd in Japan, currently sits in second place after the first day of racing. Mortefon took advantage of Cousin Questel’s mistake in the opener to claim her first foil elimination victory, which she then backed up with a 3rd place in the next race. The 27-year-old looked extremely quick upwind and is firmly in contention for the podium again.

After the opening two races - Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne / Starboard Foil) - completes the top 3 after a very solid 3rd and 4th place, but was a little unlucky to see the 3rd elimination cancelled when leading. The Spaniard currently trails Mortefon by 3.3 points and Cousin Questel by 4.3 points.

17-year-old - Hella Oppedal (Fanatic / Duotone) - sailed consistently again, just as she did in Japan, and is currently ranked 4th, while Marina Alabau (Starboard / Severne / Starboard Foil), who finished second in Japan finds herself in 5th place. The former Olympic Champion came in to change equipment just before the first race and couldn’t make it out past the shore break before the start meaning she is currently counting a 9th place. Alabau then bounced back with a second place but will need at least two more races to be completed to have a shot at the event title.

During the afternoon, the skies cleared and the sun made an appearance for the first time this week, but the wind failed to return, after a short flurry of foiling in the morning, and the sailors were released shortly before 6pm.

The good news is that the forecast for the next two days looks extremely promising with clear skies and southwesterly winds of 17-23 knots expected during the afternoon. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 9am (GMT+9) tomorrow morning with a first possible start of 10am. 

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from South Korea — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Current Ranking 2019 Ulsan PWA World Cup - Women’s Foil
*After 2 Eliminations

1st Delphine Cousin Questel (FRA - Starboard / S2Maui / Starboard Foil)
2nd Marion Mortefon (FRA - Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL) 
3rd Blanca Alabau (ESP - Starboard / Severne / Starboard Foil)
4th Helle Oppedal (NOR - Fanatic / Duotone)
5th Marina Alabau (ESP - Starboard / Severne / Starboard Foil)

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