World Cup Hyeres - Australia wins five medals including Gold in Finn

by Megan McKay on 2 May 2016 2016 Sailing World Cup - Hyeres - Australia has won five medals at this year’s Sailing World Cup Hyeres, including Gold and Silver in the Finn Class, Silver in the 470 Men, and Bronze in the 49ers and Laser.

• Finn Gold Medal: Jake Lilley
• Finn Silver Medal: Oliver Tweddell
• 470M Silver Medal: Mat Belcher and Will Ryan
• Laser Bronze Medal: Tom Burton
• 49er Bronze Medal: Will and Sam Phillips

The conditions in Hyeres for the Sailing World Cup have continued to test sailors, right through to today’s final medal races with a mix of conditions throughout the day. Heavy winds prevailed early in the day, with several classes, including the Laser and 470s getting their races underway in excess of 15 knots. Then thunderstorms rolled across the venue, and the final races for other classes got underway in the post-storm light and fluky conditions.

These lighter conditions set the scene for Australia’s Finn sailors, who both worked hard to make the most of today’s challenging conditions. Queensland’s Jake Lilley came away with the Gold medal after finishing seventh in today’s medal race, while Oliver Tweddell sailed a strong race today, crossing the line in third; which brought him within three points overall of Lilley and gave him the Silver Medal. It was a great result for the Aussies, who are both seeking the single Olympic spot in the class.

“There was a lot of pressure riding on today,” said Lilley at the completion of racing. “This was really important in terms of our selection for the Games. I had an okay start and got onto the wrong side of the shift and it was looking really bad, but I just kept chipping away. The last downwind got really light and I just kept fighting. I had penalty turns on the last work to the finish, but still managed to hang on….. just.”

Tweddell also found the going tough today. “Conditions in the medal race were tricky. I was really happy getting third. I knew what I had to do going into the race and I was glad I managed to come away with the Silver Medal.

“It’s great for Australian Finn sailing to have both Jake and I up the front ….”

Australia’s 470 Men, Matt Belcher and Will Ryan have taken the Silver Medal behind the Croatian pairing of Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic. The Aussies got off to a good start in the medal race, and stayed within the top group throughout the race. They crossed the finish line in third place, while the Croatians finished in fifth, enough for them to take the Gold Medal.

“Today was quite a difficult position for Will and I,” commented Belcher after racing. “Unfortunately we lost a lot of points yesterday and we knew we couldn’t get to first, but we had third and fourth quite close to us. We had everything to lose and not much to gain. It was a great, pressured situation for us and we came away with a third and being able to hold onto the Silver medal, so it was a good day for us.”

In the Laser class, Australia’s Tom Burton took the Bronze Medal after crossing the line seventh in today’s medal race. Fellow Australian, Matt Wearn was close behind, finishing fourth overall after a fifth place in the medal race.

“The medal race in the Laser was pretty intense,” said Burton at the conclusion of racing. “We went out in 15 knots and then by the start time it was around 25 knots. The first beat was super windy and down the first run it started to die and by the end of the race we had under five knots.

“Today was a little disappointing, I thought I was sailing quite well throughout the week. I was in it to win it, but that didn’t happen today.”

In the 49ers, Australia’s team of Will and Sam Phillips took the Bronze medal, after finishing fifth in today’s medal race. The event was taken out by New Zealand’s Peter Burling and Blair Tuke; while the Danish team of Jonas Warrer and Christian Peter Lubeck slipped into the Silver Medal position, four points ahead of the Aussies.

It was a pretty tough week, particularly on the first day, where we had quite a lot of breeze,” commented Sam Phillips. “Other than that, we’ve had a bit of everything. It’s been really good just to test our skills and compete against all the best guys.”

Australian cousins, Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin have finished fifth overall in the Nacra 17. The pair finished today’s medal race in third place, which saw them maintain their overall standing of fifth.

In the Laser Radial, Ashley Stoddart crossed the line fourth in today’s light wind medal race, maintaining her overall standing of ninth. Stoddart had already appeared to post a fourth place but the time limit ran out just before the finish, leading the race to be abandoned and resailed. This made for a long day on the water.

The Aussies now move onto various class events, including the Finn Gold Cup in Italy next week, and the Laser World Championships in Mexico from 12-18 May. The next, and final big pre-Olympic event for all classes will be Sailing World Cup Weymouth from 6-12 June.

Overall results for the Australian Sailing Team and Squad at the conclusion of Sailing World Cup Hyeres 2016:

Women's Two Person Dinghy – 470W

• Carrie Smith (WAIS) and Jaime Ryan (QAS) – AST:12th
• Sasha Ryan (QAS) and Ella Clark (WA) – ASS: 24th

Men’s Two Person Dinghy – 470M

• Mathew Belcher (QAS) and Will Ryan (QAS) – AST: second
• Patrick and Alexander Conway (NSW) – ASS: 30th
• Tom Klemens (VIS) and Tim Hannah (VIS) – ASS: 35th

Mens’ Skiff – 49er


• Will Phillips (VIC) and Sam Phillips (VIC) – ASS: third
• David Gilmour (WAIS) and Lewis Brake (QAS) – ASS: 21st
• Joel Turner (QAS) and Tom Siganto (QAS) – ASS: 36th

Men's One Person Dinghy (Heavyweight) – Finn

• Jake Lilley (QAS) – ASS: first
• Oliver Tweddell (VIS) – ASS: second

Men’s One Person Dinghy – Laser

• Tom Burton (NSW) – AST: third
• Matt Wearn (WAIS) – AST: fourth
• Mitchell Kennedy (QAS) – ASS: 18th
• Luke Elliott (WAIS) – ASS: 24th
• Jeremy O’Connell (VIS) – ASS: 28th

Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17

• Jason Waterhouse (NSW) and Lisa Darmanin (NSW) – AST: fifth

Women’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial

• Ashley Stoddart (QAS) – ASS: ninth

Women’s RS: X Windsurfer

• Joanna Sterling (QAS) – ASS: 20th

Women's Skiff – 49erFX

• Tess Lloyd (VIS) and Caitlin Elks (WAIS) – ASS: 16th
• Haylee Outteridge (NSW) and Nina Curtis (NSW) – ASS: 20th
• Olivia Price (NSW) and Eliza Solly (VIS) – ASS: 22nd

Paralympic Three Person Keelboat – Sonar

• Colin Harrison (WA), Jonathan Harris (NSW) and Russell Boaden (WA) – AST: fourth

Paralympic Single Person Keelboat – International 2.4mR

• Matt Bugg (TIS) – AST: first