Young Victoria Schulteis (Malta Young Sailors Club) clinched a Bronze Medal at the 2015 Magic Marine Optimist European Championships held at the Plas Heli, Welsh National Sailing Academy in Pwllheli, Wales.
Making up for a slightly disappointing start to the Championships, Malta’s Victoria Schulteis finished with a strong final series, resulting in her clinching bronze. This is the first time Malta has ever won a medal in such Championships.
Commenting after her win, Schulteis said: “I was aiming for a medal so am very happy. The last two days were more my weather because I’m not so heavy. I just tried sailing my best today because I had nothing to lose. I had to be careful on the start line because I already had a Black Flag Disqualification but otherwise I took some risks.”
The Optimist junior sailing class is widely regarded as the breeding ground for future international sailing success with four-time Olympic champion and America’s Cup winner, Sir Ben Ainslie, a former Optimist sailor. Over 90% of sailors at London 2012 raced Optimists as juniors.
In the Silver fleet, Malta also was represented on the podium with Richard Schulteis placing 3rd in this category.
