Thompson Grabbed The Long-Awaited European Crown

After securing a European title, finally, Nick Thompson the two-time Laser world champion has his eyes set on a first Olympic gold already.


Thompson is now 31-year-old and at the European Championships, topped the podium in Barcelona after showing a series of consistent performances throughout a week of racing.

Everything came down to the final bullet, however, Thompson in total, scored 130 points in total, which put him 18 points ahead of Francesco Marrai of Italy. Andrew McKenzie off with New Zealand finished third in the event.

And the sailor was happy to add one more title to his collection in such challenging conditions, on the final day; he jumped from fifth to take gold.

He said, “This is really pleasing. It is being one of those events, I have the desire to win and it has eluded me for a long time, I have participated in this event many times before, came really close and even got the medals but the victory has come for the first time.

“After taking the European title, the only thing which is left is – the Olympics.

He further added that “The whole week has been tricky, I was aware that coming into the regatta in Barcelona will also be there wasn’t going to be an easy one. I knew that it was going to be a long game and the possibility of winning one race and messing up in the next one was very much there.

“It was supposed to be putting up together a series and emerged out on the top at the end and things happened same way as well.”

The sailor will now prepare for the event Sailing World Cup (SWC) in Gamagori, Japan, which will be followed by the Enoshima Olympic Week.