Three Swedes challenges the rest of the world’s sailing elite. Last year’s winner Björn Hansen, Victory Challenge skipper Magnus Holmberg and the tactician on the same America’s Cup boat, Mattias Rahm, will compete against the world champion in Match racing, Ian Williams, Olympic champion Ben Ainslie, number one ISAF-ranked, Mathieu Richards, the future promise from Australia, Torvar Mirsky, and World Tour sailors Paulo Cian, Sebastien Col and Jes Gram-Hansen.

The eleventh place is still not confirmed and the twelfth team will be chosen from the top scorers in GKSS Spring Cup last weekend in May. Damien Iehl, France, ranked six, Alandia Sailing Teams Staffan Lindberg, Finland and Swedish Johnie Berntson, who recently took a strong second place in Congressional Cup in Long Beach, USA, are the strongest cards.

- We are extremely happy over this star filled starting field, it shows that we in a short time have been able to create an international world championship event of the highest standard, says Jan Torstenson, Managing director at Brandspot, who organises Match Cup Sweden in Sports cooperation with GKSS.

The race is sailed with 11 metres DS37 sailboats for five crew teams, first in a series where all meet each other, Round Robin, selecting eight teams to the quarter finals, and then four to the semi finals and two to the finals on Sunday 6 June. The price money are 200 000 dollar.

Last year’s winner Swedish Björn Hansen of Alandia Sailing Team is right now in second place in the world championship, World Match Racing Tour. In the first stage of the Tour, Paolo Cian, Italy, won over Hansen in a final with very poor wind. 7-12 May, the second stage of WMRT is sailed in Langenargen, Germany, where Hansen is the only Swedish entrant.

World Match racing Tour consists of nine stages and 17 qualification races. After the last race in Malaysia the world champion is chosen. Price money in WMRT is over 1 million USD and the Tour is broadcasted to over 500 million households in more than 90 countries.

New women class in Match Cup Sweden 2008:
Jenny Axhede and Linda Rahm challenges the world’s best

One of the news in Match Cup Sweden this year is a women class, eight crews sailing against each other during the week with the finals on Saturday July 5. The women class has also enticed the best skippers and crews in the world. Claire Leroy, from France, who is ranked number one, is registered as well as the second and third on the ISAF ranking, Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen, Denmark, and Katie Spithill Australia.

Sweden is represented by the best Match racing teams in the country, Gothenburg home skippers Jenny Axhede, ranked ten, and Linda Rahm, ranked eleven in the world. The prize money in the women class is 50 000 USD. The five women that are registered to sail in Marstrand will also sail in Lysekil Women’s Match a month later. Claire and Jenny sailed in Marstrand in 2007, but in the same class as the men. The interest for women Match racing may increase since it will be an Olympic sport in London 2012.

Match Cup Sweden in Marstrand 2008 takes place June 30 to July 6

Match Cup Sweden in Marstrand 2008 takes place June 30 to July 6. The World Cup sailing is an annual event with an unique sailing arena that draws more than 100.000 spectators to the island. Match Cup Sweden offers a week full of great activities and entertainment for the whole family and is also a meeting spot for the Swedish business world.

During the week in Marstrand well-known artists perform and you will find top class restaurants and night life, live TV, the elite within the Swedish business world and of course the best sailors of the world battling for the trophy in the Swedish stage of the world championship in match racing!
www.matchcupsweden.com.

For more information please contact, Lars-Ola Nordqvist, Press Manager Match Cup Sweden, +46-70-689 11 20, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it