Jan Paloua sailor from the Real Club Náutico de Palma who is only 11 years old, has been proclaimed champion of the 73 City of Palma Trophywhich has brought together 327 Optimist class athletes representing 15 countries. The competition, organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma, had a clear Mallorcan accent, as Jan Palou was accompanied on the podium by two other young people from the island: Dani Capa, from CN s’Estanyol, who was second, and Jorge Benítez, from RCN Port de Pollença, who finished in third position.
The last day had to be canceled due to bad weather.. The strong storm recorded in Mallorca has not allowed the regattas that were scheduled to be held, so the general classification remains with the eight races that had been held until Saturday. Jan Palou, overall winner and also of the Under 13 category, has added 28 points, compared to the 39 that Dani Capa has totaled and the 56 that Jorge Benítez has obtained.
Regarding the women’s category, the victory has also gone to a local athlete. Lluc Bestardfrom RCN Palma, has won ahead of the Polish Antonina Dziekanska and the Catalan Agnès Hadzi Janev, from CN El Balís.
Jan Palou was very satisfied with the victory, which was not one of his goals. «I had set the goal of finishing in the Top 10, but in the end I sailed very solidly“I felt comfortable in all the rounds, and I managed to win.” Jan, who started sailing at the age of five, competes in the Under 13 category at the age of 11. His brother is Niko Palou, who was the Optimist European runner-up in the 2023 season and who today competes in the ILCA class. Jan Palou wanted to thank the work of his coaches, who, as he said, teach him »to be good technically and physically« and »overcome the moments when things do not go well«. Their goal is »to continue enjoying and learning«.
The women’s champion, Lluc Bestard, has also thanked her coaches for their trust and has considered her victory as a reward for her perseverance. He has confessed that he writes down everything he learns in training in a notebook, because “the difference is in the details,” and that On days when he cannot go out to sea, he practices at home with a simulator.
An exit from Friday’s tests.
The official of the Regatta Committee of this 73rd Ciutat de Palma Trophy, Ariane Mainemare, explained the decision not to go out on the water to compete on the last day: «The most important thing is safety and we have an orange alert from the AEMET due to coastal phenomena.” Mainemare, one of the most experienced race officials in the world, has pointed out that »the different weather stations we have in the Bay of Palma were giving us winds above 20 knots with peaks of 30 at some times, so we did not “The conditions were there to do regattas and even more so with a fleet made up of boys and girls.”
The awards ceremony was attended by Pedro Vidal, regional secretary of Culture and Sports of the Balearic Government; Cati Darder, president of the Balearic Sailing Federation (FBV); Javier Garcia, vice president of the Spanish Association of the International Optimist Class (AECIO); Rafael Gil, president of the Real Club Náutico de Palma; Jorge Forteza, commodore, and Hugo Ramón, sailing member.
The director of the Real Club Náutico de Palma, Manu Fraga, has given a positive assessment of the regatta and has stated that «has put the finishing touch to a historic season in which the club has hosted two World Cups and a European Championship, in addition to its four major international regattas: Princesa Sofía Trophy, PalmaVela, Copa del Rey MAPFRE and this 73rd Ciutat de Palma Trophy.”
Fraga has called for greater support for this grassroots sailing competition, the oldest in the Balearic Islands, which he has described as “eternal” and has indicated that “our objective is for the Ciutat de Palma Trophy to maintain these participation figures each year, about 300 sailors, and that athletes from so many countries continue to come.
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