Claire Leroy from France, the world number one, and Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen from Denmark, the world number two, took second and third place, respectively. The final – which Linda Raham won 3 - 2 – proved to be very exciting and spellbound the large crowd of spectators. 25 per cent of SEK 400,000 prize purse went to the winner.

Preem Petroleum and Stena Bulk were the main sponsors of Lysekil Women’s Match, which was held this year for the fourth time and has become a popular event with the general public. The spectators on the rocks were able to follow the races at close quarters and once again the competition was blessed by good weather.

“As the defending champion, the pressure is much greater and, certainly, we’ve been aware of the high expectations. It has been a nerve-wracking week and we gave it everything we had. But the team performed really well and we sailed best when it counted. It feels great. Now we’re going to relax and enjoy our victory”, says a very satisfied Linda Rahm.

Marstrand Lysekil Women’s Double, a new trophy introduced prior to this summer’s match racing events in Marstrand and Lysekil, was won by Claire Leroy after her victory in Marstrand and second place in Lysekil.

Next year’s competition
In 2009, Lysekil Women’s Match will be held from 28 July to 1 August when it will have World Championship status, which will make it even more attractive to sailors. In addition, the prize purse will be increased to SEK 500,000. In a move that is important for the event in general, The International Sailing Federation decided recently that match racing as a sailing discipline will be reinstated as an Olympic event for women in time for the Olympic Games in London in 2012.

For more information, please contact: 

See also www.lysekilwomensmatch.se

Stena Bulk – With offices in six countries, Stena Bulk is one of the world’s leading tanker shipping companies. Our resources include our own design department, which enables us to provide our customers with innovative solutions that meet their transportation and logistics needs. The company controls a fleet of around 70 tankers and is active in every segment of the tanker market. Stena Bulk is also responsible for the marketing and operation of Concordia Maritime’s fleet. Stena Bulk is part of the Stena Sphere, which has more than 17,000 employees and sales of SEK 46 billion. www.stenabulk.com

Preem Petroleum AB (publ) is the largest oil company in Sweden and accounts for 80 per cent of the Swedish refinery capacity and 30 per cent of the Nordic refinery capacity. A total of more than 18 million m3 of crude oil are refined at its two wholly owned refineries, making Preem the largest refiner in the Nordic region. Preemraff Lysekil and Preemraff Göteborg are two modern and highly efficient refineries, which are leading producers of environmentally classed petroleum products. More than 65 per cent of our production, with a value exceeding SEK 40 billion, is exported, making us one of the major exporters in Sweden. Preem has a nation-wide service network with 480 Preem filling stations and 215 diesel filling stations for heavy traffic. Preem Petroleum AB has more than 1,300 employees, 900 of which work at the refineries. Together with the personnel employed by dealers and partners, there are some 3,400 employees who meet our customers under the Preem brand. Invoiced sales in 2007 totalled SEK 63.9 billion. More information can be found on our website www.preem.se