Please select your home edition
Edition
C-Tech 2020 Tubes 728x90 TOP

NZL Sailing Team- Gold medalists have Muppet Moment in Medal race

by Jodie Bakewell-White on 16 Jul 2014
NZ's Aleh and Powrie start ahead of the Medla Racing - 2014 470 Europeans, Greece, July 2014 Nikos Alevromytis http://www.470.org
Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie have taken the bronze medal at the 2014 Women’s 470 Open European Championships which wrapped up in Athens, Greece today.

Going into today’s final medal race, worth double points, laying second overall and assured of a podium finish an uncharacteristic mistake at the first mark rounding sealed their fate and the golden girls have to settle for bronze.

Jo Aleh describes what happened; 'Well.. we have had better days on the water!'

'We managed to stuff up today's medal race about as well as we could have. We did a bit of last second avoidance of the Russian boat coming into the first bottom mark in about fourth, ended up tipped over right next to the mark.'

'To top it off, when we got it up the kite had managed to tie itself in a very tight knot around the jib.'

'Cue the next five minutes of Polly standing on the foredeck trying to untangle it. While I did a dive out the back of the boat to rescue the spinnaker pole which had decided to make a run for it.'

'By the time we got sorted we were last by about a leg… So that was game over.'

'Ah well, a few too many Muppet Moments this event... Still ended up third overall, so that's something at least. Definitely aiming to not make those mistakes ever again.'

Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar from Austria secured the title, while British duo Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark were awarded the silver medal after the kiwi hiccup.

New Zealand’s men’s pair of Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox weren’t on the water for today’s men’s top ten medal race having ended the series in 23rd place overall.

Both Aleh and Powrie, and Snow-Hansen and Willcox are part of the NZL Sailing Team heading to Rio, Brazil for the 2014 Olympic Test Event next month.

Jez Fanstone, High Performance Director for Yachting New Zealand says, 'We want to be as familiar with the 2016 Olympic sailing venue as possible. This year we will use the Rio Test Event, 2-9 August 2014 (the first of all 2016 Olympic Test Events) to build on all aspects of our knowledge around Guanabara Bay, Rio.'

Following that the focus turns to this year’s pinnacle event for Olympic class sailing, the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander in September.


2014 Men’s and Women’s 470 European Championships, Athens, Greece

What: Olympic double-handed dinghy classes (Men’s and women’s)
New Zealand’s final results

Women’s 470
Bronze medal Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie

Men’s 470
23rd Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox
NZL Sailing Team Coaches: Nathan Handley and Pete Event website


About the NZL Sailing Team

The NZL Sailing Team includes New Zealand’s top Olympic campaigners who have made the top 20% in their most recent (respective) class World Championships or pinnacle event and have shown consistency of performance over the year including other significant Championships.

Yachting New Zealand’s High Performance Programme is focused on winning medals at the Olympics in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

NZL Sailing Team sailors all started out at grass roots yacht clubs around the country and with commitment, dedication and drive have risen to be world class athletes; they work hard in the gym, train long hours on the water and are supported by great coaches.

Doyle_SailWorld_728X90px_cruise BOTTOMAllen Dynamic 40 FooterSea Sure 2025

Related Articles

Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup Day 2
Philip Köster triumphs again in Pozo Izquierdo The 37th edition of the Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup delivered a thrilling second day this Sunday, once again marked by strong winds and the talent of the world's best windsurfers.
Posted today at 8:47 pm
A perfect start to the 5th annual AEGEAN 600
Cloudless blue skies, crystal clear waters and perfect 12-15 knots of northerly wind At the very southern end of the Greek mainland at Cape Sounion in Attica, today's start to the 5th edition of the AEGEAN 600 was perfect: cloudless blue skies, crystal clear waters and perfect 12-15 knots of northerly wind.
Posted today at 8:39 pm
29er Europeans at Lake Garda day 4
One race, one storm, and one big lay day vibe With qualification wrapped and the fleet now split into six groups—Gold, Silver, Bronze, Emerald, Purple, and White—Day 4 of the 29er Europeans kicked off with early optimism and an earlier-than-usual launch in pursuit of the morning breeze.
Posted today at 7:09 pm
iQFOiL Worlds a Aarhus day 1
Full foiling conditions launch the World Championship with four high-intensity races for both fleets The iQFOiL World Championship kicked off today in Aarhus with dynamic and demanding conditions that truly tested the world's top foiling windsurfers. The wind was anything but steady, shifting in both direction and intensity throughout the day.
Posted today at 7:01 pm
Rolex TP52 Worlds in Cascais overall
American Magic Quantum Racing win Rolex TP52 Worlds after breezy week in Cascais. Doug DeVos' American Magic Quantum Racing crew were crowned 2025 Rolex TP52 World Champions today in Cascais, Portugal.
Posted today at 6:54 pm
Red Bull Sailing Academy Opens
A new hub for current and future superstars to reach the top of their sport Marina Monfalcone, North Italy, made waves yesterday, as sports superstars gathered to open the Red Bull Sailing Academy, marking the beginning of a new era in the sport.
Posted today at 12:53 pm
Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup Day 1
Philip Köster edges out Marcilio Browne in one of the closest finals ever Philip Köster edges out Marcilio Browne in one of the closest finals ever as Pozo delivers 50 knot winds and waves.
Posted today at 11:42 am
America's Cup: French give the Brits the "Hurry-up
Frustration builds between Cup factions over lack of progress with Protocol. Last weekend's missive from the French America's Cup challenge team is further evidence over the building frustration with progress towards the 2027 America's Cup in Naples.
Posted today at 11:12 am
The oldest video footage of Moth sailing
A look back into our video archive, to when the name of this class first settled down We delve into our video archive to find the oldest possible videos that show Moth racing. Are these International Moths, British Moths... or was the name still Olive, Inverloch 11ft, National Moth or Brent One-Design?!
Posted today at 11:00 am
GKSS Match Cup & Nordea Women's Trophy overall
It is the first time the Match Cup Sweden title has been won by a Danish Skipper Denmark's Jeppe Borch/ Team Borch Match Race, and France's Pauline Courtois/ Match in Pink by Normandy crowned the new champions of Marstrand in a day of fierce weather for the final of 2025 GKSS Match Cup Sweden and Nordea Women's Trophy in Marstrand.
Posted today at 7:14 am