(from the ISAF website - www.sailing.org)

Claire LEROY and Mathieu RICHARD make it another French double at the top of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings on 16 April.

France has now held the top spots in the Open and Women’s simultaneously for the last five Ranking releases. Now with her second consecutive world champion title under her belt, LEROY’s position as the #1 skipper doesn’t look like changing any time soon.

The next release of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings will be on 14 May, following the ISAF Grade WC Match Race Germany.

Claire LEROY (FRA) just gets stronger, another World Championship title and another Ranking release at the #1 spot she makes it 23 consecutive releases and extends her lead over world #2 Lotte MELDGAARD PEDERSEN (DEN) to nearly 700 points.

MELDGAARD PEDERSEN remains in the #2 position with Katie SPITHILL (AUS) at #3. The experienced Danish skipper has three World Championship medals to her name but was not quite on form in Auckland finishing in tenth place whilst SPHITHILL came in fifth.

Competing at her first ever Match Racing World Championship, it was a talented young Finnish sailor who also was also making the headlines. Silja LEHTINEN. , a versatile sailor with a 29er world championship title to her name and a 2008 Beijing Olympics contender in the Yngling, was leading after the first two days of racing. Defeated in the semi-finals by the experienced Elizabeth BAYLIS (USA), LEHTINEN despatched Josephine GIBSON(GBR) in the petit-final and picked up the bronze medal. Today, she can celebrate again as she moves up four places in the rankings to a lifetime best at #4. The silver medallist in Auckland was Liz BAYLIS and she too makes a move up the rankings, just behind LEHTINEN at #5, a climb of six places.

The venue of the 2007 Women’s Worlds was the host for the Spring Cup in St Quay, an ISAF Grade 3 event which was won by Julie BOSSARD (FRA) and she climbs four places to a lifetime best position of #18.

There are several new entries to the women’s rankings but the highest is Celine LIORZOU (FRA) who finished first at the ISAF Grade 3 Spring Cup in St Quay.

Top 20:
1 LEROY Claire FRA
2 MELDGAARD PEDERSEN Lotte DEN
3 SPITHILL Katie AUS
4 LEHTINEN Silja FIN
5 BAYLIS Elizabeth USA
6 PHILIPPE Christelle FRA
7 BARKOW Sally USA
8 HAHLBROCK Silke GER
9 ZUIDERBAAN Klaartje NED
10 AXHEDE Jenny SWE
11 RAHM Linda SWE
12 GIBSON Josephine GBR
13 SOUTER Nicole AUS
14 GURIOLI Sabrina ITA
15 FARRELL Gemma GBR
16 LOVELL Katy USA
17 ULRIKKEHOLM Camilla DEN
18 BOSSARD Julie FRA
19 SMYTH Jessica NZL
20 MACGREGOR Lucy GBR

New events included in this Ranking release:

Grade WC – ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship, NZL
Grade 3 – Rolex Women’s Match, USA
Grade 3 – Marinassess Women’s Match Racing Regatta, AUS
Grade 3 – Spring Cup in St Quay, FRA
Grade 4 – Sichtung DSV
Grade 4 – Selez Campionato Nazionale Femminile, ITA

For more information:
ISAF World Match Race Rankings - Women’s Ranking List - www.sailing.org/mrrankings
Women’s Rankings - Women’s Ranking List - www.sailing.org/mrwrankings
ISAF Events & World Rankings homepage - Women’s Ranking List - www.sailing.org/events