News

04

November 2020

Big leap in the SSL Ranking for Match Racing World Champion Taylor Canfield

Taylor Canfield (USA) has jumped from the 170th place in the SSL Ranking to #42 after claiming the 2020 Match Racing World Championship in Bermuda last week. It was a SSL2500 event, giving the winner 85% of the 2500 points because Match Racing is not among the 10 existing Olympic classes.

https://www.starsailors.com/skipper/3598,taylor-canfield

It was a fierce battle for the 2,125 points, like you would expect from a Match Race World Championship, with tight matches since the round robins, and then up to the Quarters and Semis, but it was in the Final when it became savage. Canfield won 3 – 2 in the Semi against the defending World Champion Phil Robertson (NZL), then moved up to meet six-time World Champion Ian Williams and his Team GAC Pindar very experienced team. A win in the first match then the key point of the regatta happened in race two when Canfield aggressively gave Williams two penalties before the start, one of which ended up in a collision against the commentary boat, bringing Williams down 0.75 points, meaning he had to win four consecutive races instead of three. The Brit managed to win one, but it was Canfield who happily raised the King Edwards Trophy, awarded to the winner of the renowned Bermuda Gold Cup, for the third time in his life.

30,000$ win to Canfield’s Start&Stripes Team and moving up to #42 in the SSL Global Ranking are not the only feathers in the cap of the US skipper, he has now taken over Team USA Captain Paul Cayard and many other brilliant American athletes, and he is the number one skipper in the USA Ranking. If he keeps this leading position up until January 10th, he’ll automatically be part of SSL Team USA for the 2022 SSL Gold Cup, and he would be a very valuable asset for Cayard’s team.

Taylor Canfield has taken part in two SSL Finals, 2016 and 2019, and finished 17th in both events. At the 2020 Match Racing World Championship three more SSL Finalists were racing: runner-up, and SSL Gold Cup British team Captain Ian Williams (GBR), 2017 World Champion Torvar Mirsky (AUS) and SSL Gold Cup Team Switzerland Captain Eric Monnin, who finished respectively sixth and seventh in Bermuda.

 

SSL RANKING

https://www.starsailors.com/ranking

Rachele Vitello

SSL Press Officer since 2015

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