World champion boxers christen Alex Thomsons new Hugo Boss
by Annabel Merrison 20 Sep 2007 10:37 BST
The Klitschko brothers, last night officially christened solo sailor Alex Thomson’s brand new Hugo Boss Open 60 © Jonathan Glynn-Smith
Hugo Boss-sponsored Ukranian boxers, the Klitschko brothers, last night officially christened solo sailor Alex Thomson’s brand new state-of-the-art Open 60 yacht at a spectacular event held in Hamburg, Germany. The new HUGO BOSS replaces the boat that Alex lost in the Southern Ocean during last years Velux 5 Oceans Race, when he was rescued by fellow competitor Mike Golding OBE.
Attended by 1000 guests, champagne was sprayed onto the bow of the boat prior to an amazing light and pyrotechnics show, during which the 60 foot yacht appeared out of the mist on the banks of the River Elbe, suspended from a 30 metre high crane.
Alex Thomson commented: “It was great to be in Hamburg to christen the new HUGO BOSS. I was pleased that my friend Wladimir Klitschko agreed to do the honours along with his brother Vitali. Now the boat has been officially named, I am really looking forward to November and the start of the Barcelona World Race.”
Wladimir Klitschko, 31, and Vitali Klitschko, 36, between them have held most of the world’s heavyweight championship boxing titles. Both great fans of Alex, the brothers wished him luck in his upcoming round-the-world yacht race, when he will enter the Southern Ocean for the first time since his dramatic ordeal last November. The Barcelona World Race, a double-handed race which begins on the 11th November, will see nine boats race 26,000 miles round the globe, over a period of three months. The race, which will start and finish in Barcelona, is the first ever double-handed non-stop round-the-world race to be held in monohulls.
Alex will now spend a final few weeks training with his co-skipper Andrew Cape in the Solent, from his Gosport, Portsmouth base, before delivering Hugo Boss to Barcelona prior to the race start.