Australian results at ISAF Worlds

by Lara Watts on 14 Jul 2007 Australia’s total medal haul at the conclusion of this event is two Gold (Laser & 470 Men) and two Bronze (RS:X Women & 49er). Australia finished the event as the second top nation with four medals overall, just behind Great Britain with a total of six medals. Spain came in third with a total of two medals.

Australian Sailing Team (AST) members Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page (470 class) have won Australia’s second Gold medal at the ISAF World Sailing Championship which wrapped up in Cascais, Portugal today. AST members Nathan Outteridge and Ben Austin picked up a Bronze medal in the 49er class.

Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page had already done the hard work, going into the race with an 18-point lead. As long as they didn’t finish last they were assured of the title and they duly delivered, crossing the line in third place. It is the third World title in four years for the Aussie pair.

Both Wilmot and Page are Olympians, competing at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games in which they finished 12th place in the 470 Men’s class.

Fellow AST members Mat Belcher and Nick Behrens (470) suffered a major head on collision on Thursday and looked unlikely to compete in the final medal race. Both were taken to hospital with Behrens suffering a slight leg fracture and Belcher badly bruised. They remarkably finished the medal race in fifth place overall.

Australia’s medal hopes in the 470 Women’s class were with Elise Rechichi and Tessa Parkinson, They were well placed 5th overall, but dismasted going down wind and missed the second race of the day in the closing races before the medal rounds, which dropped them to 18th overall.

The pair will get another chance to secure Australia an Olympic berth in the 470 Women’s class at the World Championship to be held in Melbourne in January 2008.

Nathan Outteridge (49er) who only moved into 49ers in 2005 with Ben Austin, spoke of his game plan and delight at winning a Bronze medal 'We were looking for a clear start. It was good but we were slow off the start. We were about fifth or sixth for almost the whole race with the Austrians and Italians behind us which is where they needed to be if we were to stand a chance for a medal'.

'We were pretty much watching all the boats at all times, making sure that we stayed in our position. We were hoping to make Gold fleet last year and we made sixth and this year we were hoping for top ten and we made the podium which is fantastic. Hopefully we can do it again!'.

At the conclusion of this regatta, Australia has now qualified for one Olympic berth in the following classes; 470 Men, Laser, Laser Radial, Finn, RS:X Women, Tornado, Yngling, 49er and Star.

The AST will now head back to Australia for a short break before embarking on the Qingdao International Regatta from 11th – 25th August; the sailing test event for the 2008 Olympic Games.

See below for the final top 3 places (including Australian results):

470 Men – Completed after 10 races:
1. Nathan Wilmot & Malcolm Page (AUS) – GOLD & QUALIFIED AUSTRALIA FOR 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES
2. Sven Coster & Kalle Coster (NED)
3. Gideon Kliger & Gai Udi (ISR)
5. Mat Belcher & Nick Behrens (AUS)

470 Women – Completed after 10 races:
1. Macelien De Koning & Berkhout Lobke (NED)
2. Ingrid Petitjean & Douroux Nadege (FRA)
3. Christina Bassadone & Saskia Clarke (GBR)
18. Elise Rechichi & Tessa Parkinson (AUS)

49er – Completed after 13 races:
1. Stevie Morrison & Ben Rhodes (GBR)
2. Nico Luca Ma Delle Karth (AUT)
3. Nathan Outteridge & Ben Austin (AUS) – BRONZE & QUALIFIED AUSTRALIA FOR 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES
27. Will Phillps & Jon Newman (AUS)

Tornado – Completed after 8 races:
1. Fernando Echavarri & Paz Anton (ESP) - GOLD
2. Carolijin Brouwer & Godefroid Sebastien (BEL) – SILVER
3. Mitch Booth & Nieuwenhuis Pim (NED) - BRONZE
4. Darren Bundock & Glenn Ashby (AUS) – QUALIFIED AUSTRALIA FOR 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES

Star – Completed after 9 races:
1. Robert Scheidt & Prada Bruno (BRA) - GOLD
2. Xavier Rohart & Rambeau Pascal (FRA) - SILVER
3. Iain Percy & Andrew Simpson (GBR) - BRONZE
9. Iain Murray & Andrew Palfrey (AUS) – QUALIFIED AUSTRALIA FOR 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES

Laser – Completed after 9 races:
1. Tom Slingsby (AUS) – GOLD & QUALIFIED AUSTRALIA FOR 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES
2. Andrew Murdoch (NZL) - SILVER
3. Deniss Karpak (EST) - BRONZE
21. Michael Blackburn (AUS)

Laser Radial – Completed after 9 races:
1. Tatiana Drozdovskaya (BLR) – GOLD
2. Sari Multala (FIN) - SILVER
3. Petra Niemann (GER) - BRONZE
12. Krystal Weir (AUS) - QUALIFIED AUSTRALIA FOR 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES
16. Sarah Blanck (AUS)

Yngling – Completed after 9 races:
1. Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb & Pippa Wilson (GBR)
2. Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe & Deborah Capozzi (USA)
3. Shirley Robertson, Annie Lush & Lucy McGregor (GBR)
10. Nicky Bethwaite, Karyn Gojnich & Angela Farrell (AUS) - QUALIFIED AUSTRALIA FOR 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES

Finn – Completed after 8 races:
1. Rafael Trujillo (ESP)
2. Pieter Jan Postma (NED)
3. Gasper Vincec (SLO)
10. Anthony Nossiter (AUS) - QUALIFIED AUSTRALIA FOR 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES
15. Brendan Casey (AUS)

RS:X Women – Completed after 10 races:
1. Zofia Klepacka (POL)
2. Barbara Kendall (NZL)
3. Jessica Crisp (AUS) – BRONZE & QUALIFIED AUSTRALIA FOR 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES
28. Allison Shreeve (AUS)

RS:X Men – Completed after 10 races:
1. Ricardo Santos (BRA)
2. Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL)
3. Nick Dempsey (GBR)