(from the Match Cup Sweden web site - www.matchcupsweden.com)

Sensational Anna and unbeatable Jenny to semi finals in Match Cup Sweden

All three Swedish ladies secured their spots in the semi finals of Match Cup Sweden, Women class. Jenny Axhede showed her unbeatable class winning all her seven matches, while 23 years young Anna Kjellberg made a sensational breakthrough in the international sailing world, winning five matches. Linda Rahm and Claire Leroy each won six matches which secured their semi final spots.

Anna Kjellberg and her crew jumped up and down of happiness in the sailing boat cockpit after winning their last match against American Sandy Hayes. But not until they reached the dock they understood that their aggressive and winning sailing style that took her competitors by surprise also paid off all the way to the semi finals.

“I am totally exhausted, this is crazy. But all credits to my team, we have had an incredibly good atmosphere on board. Everything just danced, the boat, the rudder and the sheets”, said Anna Kjellberg, with the widest of smiles.

She considers this her best performance in her career, even counting the team’s fourth place in the European championship in Vigo last year. And undoubtedly, this is her and her team’s breakthrough in international sail racing.

“We have never gotten the chance to sail in big events like this before, so today we are incredibly happy. Now we have to celebrate tonight and start charging for Saturday’s competition – we are not quite satisfied yet”, Anna says.

Jenny Axhede and her team showed world class match racing skills by being just unbeatable, upsetting number one ranked Claire Leroy and the rest of the international lady sailors both Monday and Tuesday. Seven matches won, none lost, made her way to win the Round Robin series.

“We have been focused and had a great team work onboard. All day we have been very calm and safe in our manoeuvres and had a lot of fun in the hard wind. This is our first hard wind sailing this year, and it created quite a lot of adrenalin”, Jenny Axhede from Gothenburg commented.

With wind strength up to nine meters per second, the boats sailed with a reefed main and a small jib. The third Swedish lady going to the semi finals, Linda Rahm, wasn’t all comfortable with this and said she and her team were not totally satisfied:

“We are happy to go on to the semi finals but our sailing has not been 100 percent good, which we have to improve to Saturday’s final sailings.”

French Claire Leroy, who has been number on the world ladies ranking list since 2005 and is reigning world champion, also secured a semi final spot.

“We were more focused and secure than yesterday”, explained Claire.

Results after the Round Robin:

Jenny Axhede 7-0
Linda Rahm, 5-2
Claire Leroy, 5-2
Anna Kjellberg, 4-3
Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (DEN) 3-4
Camilla Ulrikkeholm (DEN) 2-5
Katie Spithill (AUS) 2-5
Sandy Hayes (USA) 0-7