(Hamilton, Bermuda – 5 November 2024) – France’s Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink by Normandy Elite team of Maelenn Lemaitre, Louise Acker, Théa Khelif and Clara Bayol clinched victory at the 2024 Aspen Bermuda Women’s Match Racing Regatta on Sunday, defeating Sweden’s Anna Östling and her WINGS team 2-1 in a tense final in very light airs. Adding to the French team’s success, Courtois and crew were also crowned 2024 Women’s World Match Racing Tour Champions for the fifth time.
Courtois’ victory in Bermuda caps an extraordinary season for the French skipper and her Match in Pink team. Their consistent dominance has solidified their place at the top of women’s match racing, winning the Women’s World Match Racing Tour title for an impressive fifth time.
At the inaugural Aspen Women’s Bermuda Match Race Regatta, launched this year to help promote women in match racing, the Sunday final saw a morning of postponements and race abandonments in the light winds. As the breeze settled just enough for Principal Race Officer David Campbell-James to start racing, Courtois’ Normandy team were first to the scoreboard 1-0 in the shortened first-to-two-race final. Opponent Anna Östling and the Swedish WINGS team then equalised 1-1, forcing a final decider race which Courtois was able to etch ahead to take the event win.
“We are very, very happy.” said a jubilant Courtois on the dock. “It was a big achievement for us as a team and it has been an incredible year. I haven’t done much match racing this year but I am fortunate to have a really good team around me.”
Östling and crew were dissapointed to lose out on the final race;
“We didn’t get anything for free this week and we have been fighting for our survival from the start to the end, so I think we should be quite happy with second place. Pauline was clearly better today but we gave our best and we know have a way to go to master these unique IOD yachts”
In the petit-final Denmark’s Lea Vogelius finished third courtesy of a 1-0 triumph over compatriot Kristine Mauritzen.
2024 Aspen Bermuda Women’s Match Race Regatta final standings
- 🇫🇷 Pauline Courtois/ Match in Pink
- 🇸🇪Anna Östling/ Team WINGS
- 🇩🇰 Lea Vogelius/ Team Katnakken DK
- 🇩🇰 Kristine Mauritzen/ Those Seagulls
- 🇳🇱 Julia Aartsen/ Team Out of the Box
- 🇦🇺 Juliet Costanzo/ Easy Tiger Racing
- 🇬🇧 Sophie Otter/ Otter Racing
Overal 2024 Women’s World Match Racing Tour standings (counting best 3 results)
- 🇫🇷 Pauline Courtois/ Match in Pink
- 🇳🇱 Julia Aartsen/ Team Out of the Box
- 🇸🇪Anna Östling/ Team WINGS
For full 2024 Women’s WMRT leaderboard, see https://womenswmrt.com/leaderboard/
The regatta also served as the final event of the 2024 Women’s Match Racing Tour, attracting top female match racing teams to Bermuda’s iconic waters.
As the 2024 Women’s Match Racing Tour approaches, the teams, organizers, and spectators celebrate an exciting season and look forward to another year of fierce competition and unmatched sportsmanship on the Women’s Match Racing circuit.
To view live results, visit HERE
To view event gallery, visit HERE
For more information, follow womenswmrt.com and via social media on Instagram and Facebook at @womenswmrt
About Women’s World Match Racing Tour
The Women’s World Match Racing Tour was launched in 2022 to continue the hugely successful legacy of the WIM Series (Women’s International Match Racing Series) providing a global match racing series for female sailors. The name of the series was re-launched as the Women’s World Match Racing Tour with its continued mission to expand and strengthen global match racing and promote opportunities for competitive women’s sailing at every level. The Women’s World Match Racing Tour is the world’s first and only professional sailing series for women providing a valuable pathway for aspiring female world champions in the sport of sailing. See womenswmrt.com