Laser Radial World Championship - Krystal Weir surges in Boltenhagen

by Craig Heydon on 18 May 2012 At the Laser Radial World Championships in Boltenhagen, Germany, Australian sailor Krystal Weir has worked her way up the leader board on the final day of qualifying. The cold temperatures and strong winds that tested the 133 crews for the opening two days were present again on Thursday with Weir at the front of the fleet in both races.

The Victorian was third in the opening race of the day, trading places with the leading crews the whole way through before coming out on top in race two with a win.

The results moved Weir up from her overnight 13th to be sixth overall, just five points off the podium and a further four behind leader Sari Multala of Finland.

'Overall it was a good day for me today with a third and a first,' said Weir. 'I’m really happy with how the day went because I was able to get off the start line how I wanted and put the shifts together well.

'It was another pretty shifty and windy day making things very tricky,' she said. 'This regatta was never going to be an easy one with challenging conditions and a very strong fleet.'

Friday will see the crews split into gold and silver fleets, presenting the first opportunity the leading sailors have had to race against each other.

'I’m looking forward to sailing with the whole fleet tomorrow and seeing where I’m at overall,' said Weir. 'It should be warmer with lighter winds tomorrow which could shake things up.'

Fellow Australian Alexandra South is 54th overall after not finishing race one and then finishing 28th in race two.

Caitlin Elks is 104th after 46th and 45th place finishes.

In the under-21 category South is currently seventh and Elks is 25th.

Laser World Championship website
Australian Sailing Team website