The Official
Website of the
International
Sailing Federation

It is with great sadness that ISAF reports the passing away of Austrian sailor Johannes Haeupl, who drowned after his Tornado capsized whilst racing at the Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma, Mallorca.

Haeupl, 32, was competing together with his brother Martin in the Tornado class at the 33rd Princess Sofia Trophy in the Bay of Palma when the incident occurred early Friday afternoon, 29 March 2002.

Organizers said the fatal accident took place after Haeupl became caught up in his harness when the boat capsized as it carried out a manoeuvre in the wind and intense rain. They added that the weather conditions had not been unduly dangerous for competitive sailing.

"The conditions for the regatta were relatively normal, with a wind of 20 knots. Some 700 other boats, some of which were smaller in size, were competing in the bay at the same time," said a race official.

Two launches reached the stricken boat and managed to rescue Martin, who had floated to the surface after the accident, but attempts to help free his brother were unsuccessful.

"We did all we could," said Francisco Villalonga, the President of the Balearic Sailing Federation speaking to reporters at a press conference. "We threw him two knives so that he could cut himself free. We tried to help him stay calm, but it was all in vain. It was a tragedy and the first one in the 33-year history of this trophy."

Gerardo Pombo, the President of the RFEV, expressed his regret at the tragedy. "The sea takes its toll every so often as we all know. All I can now do is send my condolences to his brother, his family and to all Austria's yachting community."

Remaining races and the Closing Ceremony at the Princess Sofia Trophy were cancelled as a mark of respect.

ISAF joins sailors in expressing our condolences to Johannes family, friends and Austrian sailors.

Top three results for all the Olympic classes are shown below. Full results for all classes are on the event website.

470 Men (8 races)

1 UKR BRASLAVETS,Eugen / MATVIENKO,Igor 25 pts
2 ARG CONTE,Javier / DE LA FUENTE,Juan 36 pts
3 GRE KOSMATOPOULOS,Andreas / TRIGONIS,Kostas 40 pts

470 Women (7 races)

1 GRE BEKATOROU,Sofia / TSOULFA,Emilia 19 pts
2 ISR KLIGER,Linor / FABRIKANT,Anat 31 pts
3 FRA PETIT JEAN,Ingrid / DOUROUX,Nadige 34 pts

49er (10 races)

1 ESP MARTINEZ,Iker / FERNANDEZ,Xabier 28 pts
2 ESP LOPEZ- VAZQUEZ,Santiago / DE LA PLAZA,Javier 30 pts
3 DEN PERSSON,Jonatan / IVERSEN,Thomas 52 pts

Europe Women (10 races)

1 DEN LIVBJERG,Signe 11 pts
2 FIN MULTALA,Sari 13 pts
3 NED BROUWER,Carolyn 15 pts

Finn (7 races)

1 BEL GODEFROID,Sebastien 22 pts
2 CRO KURET,Karlo 38 pts
3 CZE MAIER,Michael 38 pts

Laser (5 races)

1 GBR GOODISON,Paul 5 pts
2 RUS SEMERKHANOV,Maxim 12 pts
3 SWE FEDERIK, LASSENIUS 13 pts

Mistral Men (9 races)

1 FRA GUYADER,Alexandre 9 pts
2 FRA BEUDOU,Nicolas 16 pts
3 FRA HASSEN,Fabrice 19 pts

Mistral Women (9 races)

1 FRA MERRET,Faustine 11 pts
2 ITA SENSINI,Alessandra 12 pts
3 FRA NUVOLONE,Sandrine 19 pts

Star (6 races)

1 GER WITZMANN,Hendrik/MAHLEN,Markus 19 pts
2 GER HAGEN,Alexander / WITT,Carsten 23 pts
3 DEN HOLM,Nicklas/LEIFELT,Martin 28 pts

Tornado (7 races)

1 FRA BACKES,Olivier/VOLRON,Laurent 24 pts
2 ARG LANGE,Santiago / ESPINOLA,Carlos 28 pts
3 ESP ECHAVARRI,Fernando / PAZ,Anton 29 pts

Yngling (8 Races)

1 ESP AZON,Monica/CUADRAS,Diana/GARCIA,Julie 27 pts
2 NED THIES,Annelies / BES,Annemieke / DE JONG,Petronella 28 pts
3 GER WAGNER,Kristin / HOELL,Anna / LOCHBRUNNER,Veronika 35 pts