Sailing - Lorenzo Mayer's first world championship in China was a real test

Lorenzo Mayer's first participation in the Senior World Championship on an Ilca 7 was no picnic. Admittedly, the Saint-Barth Yacht Club member managed to finish in thirtieth place, out of 138 competitors, but by his own admission, the competition was testing, to say the least.
The world championship took place from May 10 to 17 in Qingdao, China. The weather conditions were extremely unfavorable. As a result, the sailors were only able to sail for two days out of the six scheduled, and only five of the twelve scheduled races were contested. Because of the lack of wind," comments Lorenzo, "and also because the current component was much stronger than the wind, which made our task impossible. "In some sequences, we even had to tread water. "It was a tough week, because we were on the water every day, and we had to wait a very long time," explains the young sailor. Mentally, it was hard work. Physically, the last two days were tough. "
As usual, Lorenzo is critical of his performance. It's pretty mixed," he confides. I'm getting off to good starts, but I'm finding it hard to express myself in terms of tactical choices and speed, and I can't seem to close the heats. "Nevertheless, Lorenzo admits that the final ranking doesn't surprise him. I finished with the result I'd imagined if we'd raced all week," he says. I'm learning from my mistakes. But I'm still happy. A lot of competitors finished tied, so it was very close. I know what I need to work on before the second big event of the year. "In this case, the European Senior Championships in Sweden in mid-August.
In June, Lorenzo Mayer and the French team will take part in a stage of the World Cup in Kiel, Germany. The competition will be preceded and followed by training sessions. The aim remains the same: to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA. In the meantime, Lorenzo can also look forward to his first trip to China. Even if he was only able to see a tiny part of it. We rarely have time to visit the places we go," he remarks. Except for the water, to familiarize yourself and get ready. China was special because it's a closed country and the locals aren't used to seeing foreigners. Especially where we were. We felt stared at, and it was a strange feeling at first because we were asked to take photos. But as time went on, it became almost normal. And then, from a culinary point of view, it's quite something. "In Germany, the change of scenery will be somewhat different.