Brits Asher and Willis grab Mens 470 Worlds

by Jodi Kelly/Clare Murray - Sail Melbourne Media on 30 Jan 2008
Brits Nic Asher and Elliot Willis overcame great odds this week to pull off a stunning 470 Men's world championship victory at Mordialloc Sailing Club in Melbourne Australia today.

The 2006 world champions survived a nasty mid-race collision in Race 8 before they rallied to win today's top 10 double points medal race and their second world title by just 0.9 of a point.

Willis was out of action for 24 hours with severely bruised ribs but following a successful application for redress points for Races 8, 9 and 10, he and Asher were elevated into the bronze medal position for the start of the today's action.

With just 3 points separating the top three crews, Asher and Willis managed to leapfrog overnight leaders Alvaro Marinho and Miguel Nunes (POR) who crossed the line in third place today. Marinho and Nunes secured the silver medal, ahead of Gideon Kliger and Udi Gal (ISR) who struggled into today's light conditions to eighth place and a bronze medal on 70 points.

The Brits won with 56.10 points with the Portuguese on 57 points.

'The world championship was good for us. we didn't have much training back in Portugal,' Nunes said. 'It was winter and we were expecting strong winds here and in Portugal it was light winds, so it was difficult preparation but in the end it worked out well for us,' he added.

For Marinho and Nunes, it is their first time on the podium at a world championship event, however for Kliger/Gal it is their third consecutive bronze medal at the world titles.

'It's okay, we were second in the morning . we'll be happy in a few hours,' a disappointed Kliger said. 'But it's still a good result . we should be happy,' he added with a smile.

Australian's Nathan Wilmot/Malcolm Page, the 2004, 05 and 07 world champs, finished fifth in today's medal race and eighth overall on 93 points.

470 Men Gold - Medal Race (1 - 10)

Pl	Name	Sail Num	Bow Num	Club /Cty	Pts Carry over	1	Total Points	Net Points
1	ASHER, Nic WILLIS, Elliot	GBR828	064	GBR	54.10	2	56.10	56.10
2	MARINHO, Álvaro NUNES, Miguel	POR22	001	POR	51	6	57	57
3	KLIGER, Gideon GAL, Udi	ISR7	032	ISR	54	16	70	70
4	CHARBONNIER, Nicolas BAUSSET, Olivier	FRA7	042	FRA	60	20	80	80
5	LEBOUCHER, Pierre GAROS, Vincent	FRA44	044	FRA	77	4	81	81
6	ZANDONÀ, Gabrio TRANI, Andrea	ITA2	103	ITA	74	12	86	86
7	BARREIROS RODRÍGUEZ, Onán SARMIENTO PADILLA, Aarón	ESP9	120	ESP	83	8	91	91
8	WILMOT, Nathan PAGE, Malcolm	AUS311	088	AUS	83	10	93	93
9	ROGERS, Nicholas GLANFIELD, Joe	GBR817	067	GBR	80	18	98	98
10	BONNAUD, Benjamin BONAUD, Romain	FRA11	040	FRA	92	14	106	106