Star Worlds: Sailing for Gold Torben Grael & Marcelo Ferreira

Photo Volvo Ocean Race
Elected best sailor in the world by the International Federation in 2009, captain of the Ericsson 4, winner of the last Volvo Ocean Race, the most traditional around-the-world race, and Brazil's top Olympic medalist and world champion sailor, Torben Grael will attempt a ninth podium finish in the upcoming Star World Championship. As always, he will be sailing with helmsman Marcelo Ferreira. The championship will start on January 16th, at the Yacht Club in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Torben certainly doesn’t expect a podium finish to be an easy feat. In addition to racing against the world’s best international Star sailing teams, Torben also stated that he has been out of the Star competition for a while because of his Volvo Ocean Race commitments. "We didn’t sail for quite a while and even though we returned to the competition by the end of 2009, we still haven’t gotten our rhythm back", says Brazil's five-time Olympic medalist: two gold, one silver and two bronze.

The event’s calendar kicks off on Tuesday, starting with registration and measuring of the boats at the Yacht Club in Rio de Janeiro. On the 15th of January there will be a training regatta, open to all registered entries. The six regattas for general classification will take place from January 16-18 and 20-22. The 19th and 23rd of January are reserved to make up for any cancelled races.

Podium Torben and Marcelo on Star World
Gold
1990 - Torben Grael/Marcelo Ferreira - Cleveland (EUA)
1997 - Alexander Hagen (Ale)/Marcelo Ferreira - Massachusetts (EUA)

Silver
1991 - Torben Grael/Marcelo Ferreira -Cannes (FRA)
1995 - Torben Grael/Marcelo Ferreira - Laredo (ESP)
1998 - Torben Grael/Marcelo Ferreira - Portoroz (ESL)
2002 - Torben Grael/Marcelo Ferreira - Marina Del Rey (EUA)
2005 - Torben Grael/Marcelo Ferreira - Buenos Aires (ARG)

Bronze
1994 - Torben Grael/Marcelo Ferreira - San Diego (EUA)
1996 - Torben Grael/Marcelo Ferreira - Rio de Janeiro (BRA)

The Star World Championship 2010 is sponsoring by Banco do Brasil, Transpetro, Governo Federal, Gol Linhas Aéreas, Santa Constanza, Wollner and Secretaria Estadual de Turismo, Esporte e Lazer do Rio de Janeiro. The event is organized by Iate Clube do Rio de Janeiro, International Star Class Yacht Racing Association (ISCYRA), Confederação Brasileira de Vela e Motor (CBVM) and Federação de Vela do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FEVERJ).

ZDL - João Pedro Nunes