49ER CREWS SET TO DECIDE MINOR OLYMPIC MEDALS
by Ian Grant on 25 Sep 2000
Katrina Butler
Five high performance crews are poised to stage a nip-n-tuck duel for the minor medals in the Olympic 49er skiffs on Sydney Harbour today.
Veteran sailing team of Jonathan and Charlie McKee, the ‘Seniors’ of the class, are in strong position to win an Olympic Medal for the USA sailing team.
The McKee’s who led the championship before the Emmett Lazcich coached Finland combination of Thomas Johanson and Jyrki Jarvi snatched Gold from their grasp on Saturday are well in the race for the Silver Medal.
Skipper Jonathan and sail handler Charlie winners of previous World championships and Olympic medals head onto the course for the final today with a relatively comfortable score of 52 penalty points, four points (or four race positions) clear of England’s Ian Barker and Simon Hiscock’s followed by Spain 65pts, Germany 69pts.
Australia’s triple 49er World champion Chris Nicholson and crew Daniel Phillips rated as the favourites for the series on their home course remain as a remote challenger to win a medal despite winning four of the first nine races.
If you want to link to this article then please use this URL: www.sail-world.com/540
