Australia's Outteridge and Austin win 49er Worlds
by Teri Dodds/Rob Kothe on 9 Jan 2008
49er World Champion - Nathan Outteridge (left) and Ben Austin - 49er World Championships - Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club, Australia Teri Dodds
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The Medal race started in a crisp 20 knots breeze with a short chop; the Australians covered their nearest opponents on the tally board GBR1 (Stevie Morrison / Ben Rhodes) starting at the pin end on top of them.
The Ukraine pairing of George Leonchuk and Rodion Luka were expected to make it a three way battle, they were just a single point back on the leaderboard. But five seconds before the start they capsized. That was the boat race for them. They took last place in the Medal race, but the Italian Sibello brothers could only manage ninth place so the Leonchuk and Luka took the bronze medal.
It was a popular win in front of a home town crowd for the young Australians and they were cheered ashore.
On the beach Ben Austin said 'We thought if we stuck to the left, with our game plan to stay with them, we’d be in good shape. We had speed on them which was great.'
Nathan Outteridge added 'We had a small speed advantage to windward after the start, got a knock and tacked off, and basically waited for someone to make a mistake.'
After they rounded the top mark first with the Brits hot on their heels, they believed 'if we just hang on here we’re OK.' Ben Austin explained 'we didn’t want to push too hard and it (the boat) felt OK.'
Leading from start to finish, Outteridge’s only concern was to 'just stay upright, be careful in the gybes and go fast.'
Three years ago no one would have believed the Australians could reach the pinnacle of the 49er Class. Driving from Sydney on the way to Sail Melbourne in January 2005 Nathan Outteridge was nearly killed in a car smash. He suffered spinal injuries and spent a long time in rehabilitation before he could walk, let alone sail, again.
However the talented combination served notice at the 2007 49er Worlds in Cascais that they would be a world force when they grabbed the bronze medal.
Coming into the regatta Outteridge and Austin were confident they’d do well.
Nathan Outteridge. 'We are pretty fast in all conditions but if there is a favoured breeze, its 12 – 16 knots, that is ideal for us.'
'It’s been a dream to win a world championship for years and years and years, but it still hasn’t sunk in,' concluded Ben Austin.
The young Australians will have a short break before they work on their Olympic campaign, now just eight months away. Austin says their focus will be to work on their speed and improve their consistency.
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