Miami Beach, Florida (February 10, 2006) – The Israeli 470 team of Gidi Kliger and Ehud Gal are the new leaders of the Men’s 470 World Rankings. A third at the ISAF Grade 1 Rolex Miami OCR gave Kliger and Gal the boost they needed to be ranked #1 in the World. They knocked Alvaro Marinho and Miguel Nunes from Portugal off the top, a spot the Portuguese pair had held since June 2005.
Kliger and Gal competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, falling just short of a medal position. Last August they hired Gold Medalist and previous competitor, Kevin Burnham, to coach them. Together the Israeli team and Burnham have come up with a training plan and regatta schedule which will put the Israeli team not only on the top of the World Rankings, but also on the top of the Olympic podium.
“Being #1 in the World Rankings is important and a huge achievement. But this is just one step to achieving our final goal, which is to have Kliger and Gal win a Gold Medal in 2008.”
About The Rankings
The ISAF World Sailing Rankings rate skippers based on their performances over the last two years. Skippers score points by competing in ISAF Graded events. The top finishers at all ISAF Graded events score Rankings points, with the highest points awarded to the event winner and then decreasing down relative to position. The most points are up for grabs at World Championship events, followed by ISAF Grade C1 events, Grade 1, Grade 2 etc.
In addition to this bonus points are scored for success in events featuring particularly competitive fields which host the top ranked skippers on the ISAF World Sailing Rankings. The points scored at events counts towards a skipper’s Ranking points total which decides his Ranking position. Each skipper can count a maximum of seven events, with those which have taken place within the last twelve months holding a bonus percentage weighting.
To see the entire ISAF Sailing World Rankings go to: www.sailing.org/rankings/
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