Oscar Engström, together with crew members Rasmus Alnebeck, Emil Wolfgang and Filip Karlsson from the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club (GKSS), won the silver medal at the Match Racing World Championship, which concluded today in Shenzhen, China.

The day before yesterday, Engström won the quarterfinal against French sailor Rossi by 3–2, and early this morning he won the semifinal against world number one Chris Poole of the USA, also by 3–2.

In the final, however, the British team led by skipper Ian Williams proved too strong and won 2–0. Williams has now won the world championship title nine times and is by far the most successful match racing sailor in history. The tactician on Williams’ team is Gothenburg native Richard Sydenham. “Ian Williams is incredibly experienced and was very strong in the final. We are extremely happy nonetheless, and now we’re going to celebrate,” said Rasmus Alnebeck in a phone interview from China. “We have been highly focused, trained hard, and invested a lot of time in development during the autumn, so it feels fantastic that it paid off,” Alnebeck continued.

The championship was characterized by tricky conditions with highly variable winds. Due to light winds, the final had to be shortened to first to two points instead of first to three. The races were sailed in Fareast 28 boats, the same type used by GKSS as training boats at the club and during the World Cup events in Marstrand.

“I have followed their campaign closely over the past few years, and with their attitude and knowledge, this result is well deserved,” said match racing expert Mattias Rahm. “The team finished third at the GKSS Match Cup on the World Cup circuit this summer and showed that they were on the right track. That they can perform at the highest level at a senior world championship despite being first-year seniors shows that they have even greater potential going forward.”