A long weekend at sea in Marstrand ended with two Swedish victories in the Match Cup Sweden & Nordea Women’s Match, organized by Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club.

The crew of Björn Hansen, Nils Bjerkås, Philip Kai Guhle and Mathias Bredin sailed in style and won the final race over reigning world champion Chris Poole from the United States. The final score 2-1 to the Swedes.

“Today’s finals were sailed in a light westerly wind and bright sun from a clear blue sky. We are so incredibly happy to be back in Marstrand and to win in this tough competition,” commented Hansen at the award ceremony.

This was the seventh time that Hansen won in Marstrand, making him the most successful sailor in the competition’s 29-year history.

“The large crowd enjoyed the smooth sailing and the fantastic duels at sea. It’s a big folk festival and I’m so incredibly happy with the day. Everything was perfect”, says Mattias Rahm, project manager for the competitions in Marstrand.

Johnie Berntsson, Patrik Sturesson, Herman Andersson and Björn Lundgren from the organizing club GKSS finished in 3rd place after winning against Mati Sepp of Estonia in the petit final. It was the first time that Berntsson reached the semifinals at the Match Cup.

The day after the conclusion of the Match Cup, it was time for the finals in the Nordea Women’s Match at Marstrand. On Sunday, the women’s finals in this year’s edition of the Nordea Women’s Trophy were decided during the GKSS Match Cup at Marstrand. Brilliant high summer weather, sea breeze and world-class sailing were on offer.

Anna Östling and Team WINGS started the regatta very strong and with no losses heading into the final. There she met Renee Groeneveld and her team from the Netherlands. It’s an experienced bunch—together they’ve participated in seven Olympics, brought home three Olympic medals and one of the women came to compete directly after finishing in second place in The Ocean Race.

Östling was also coming off the Women’s World Cup in match racing with a silver medal, but during the event she had lost control of the boat in a maneuver the tiller knocked her legs, injuring her knee so seriously that she could hardly walk.

In the finals, the first to score two wins is the champion. Östling started strongly and took home the first win. The Dutch equalized in the second race, sailing in an even match where we saw several over takings. In the third race, after an eventful start Östling was able to outmaneuver the opponents and come out in the lead. She held the lead despite several attacks from the experienced Dutch team. Östling had overwhelming support from the crowd, receiving cheers and a huge wave of hands as the winners paraded past.

“A fantastic week is over; I am so proud and happy for the feeling in the team and how we helped each other to both a World Cup silver medal and the win here at Marstrand. I really didn’t think so last Thursday when the knee was in the wrong direction and the leg bent. We have won many times here, but this feels special, you can do more than you think with a super team. And the race today was a once in a lifetime experience,” said Östling.