Double Championship win in Bermuda for Courtois and Normandy Elite team

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.