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Their no holds barred approach and fearless style of match racing in the high pressure Olympic sailing environment saw the Spaniards, ranked #8 in the world, sail an emphatic round robin series where they picked up key victories against pre-event favourites. Thrown in at the deep end on the opening day, they breezed through their matches against 2010 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Champion Lucy Macgregor (GBR) and World #1 Anna Tunnicliffe and never looked back.

Light work was made of the experienced Claire Leroy (FRA) in the Quarter Finals and they overturned an early loss against Ekaterina Skudina (RUS) in the Semi Finals. They squared up against the Australian team in an epic big wind final where they elements played as much a part of the drama as their opponents.

The pendulum swung back and forth as the crews entertained 5,000 expectant spectators on the Nothe. With the scores locked at 2-2 it all came down to a nail biting winner takes all decider and Echegoyen, Pumariega and Toro held their nerve to take the ultimate prize.

For more on the Spanish crew and to view pictures of their success visit their ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year profile.

Joining Echegoyen, Pumariega and Toro as female nominees for ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year 2012 are Helena Lucas (GBR), Saskia Sills (GBR) and Lijia Xu (CHN).

The Voting
The winners are selected by the ISAF Member National Authorities (MNAs), the national governing bodies for sailing around the world. The MNAs are now invited to vote for the male and female nominee they believe most deserves the Award.

The winners will be announced at the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards presentation and dinner, taking place on Tuesday 6 November 2012. The venue for the event is the Mansion House in Dublin, Ireland.

Each winner will be presented with the prestigious ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award Trophy and a distinctive Rolex timepiece.

Full profiling of each nominee and their achievements will continues through to 10 October on the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards microsite at www.sailing.org/worldsailor.