Laser Worlds - Birthday boy Slingsby wins third championship

by Craig Heydon on 6 Sep 2010 Australian sailor Tom Slingsby has received the ultimate birthday present, a third Laser World Championship and second World title in as many weeks, on a thrilling final day of the 2010 Laser World Championship.

Slingsby, who was celebrating his 26th birthday on the final day of racing at Hayling Island in Great Britain, has added the 2010 Laser World Championship to his 2007 and 2008 titles and also the 2010 Etchell World Championship he won with John Bertrand and Andrew Palfrey just over a week ago.

'Today’s win is the best birthday present I could ever have hoped for,' said Slingsby. 'To win two World Championships in two weeks and end four and a half months in Europe with my third Laser World Championship is fantastic.'

'It was quite a stressful week with a black flag hanging over my head through the finals but to come through with no further mistakes was great, I’m stoked with the result and really happy with how I sailed,' he said.

Slingsby headed into the last day of racing with a 32 point lead over Nick Thompson of Great Britain but while the lead may have looked comfortable on paper there was still plenty of action to happen on the water in the final two races.

'The first race I was steady sitting around 10th to 15th and then I jumped up at the end to get close to Nick which I was really happy with,' said Slingsby. 'In the second race I thought I would stay on the same side of the course as Nick and he went off the pin end and tacked and crossed the fleet I thought I needed to just reel him in a bit, but then I saw him capsize in to leeward.'

'He then went back out to the left side and then he overlaid the top mark, so I had a nice little buffer around the top mark,' he said. 'On the first run I capsized and did a full turtle and then as soon as I got the boat back up I put the vang on, put the daggerboard down and then just took it easy to make sure I did not make any more mistakes.'

The Australian finished the day with a sixth and a 14th and eventually extended his winning margin to 36 points ahead of Thompson with New Zealander Andrew Murdoch 10 points further back in third.

2010 has been a massive year for Slingsby with victories at the Australian Laser Championship and three rounds of the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Holland, Germany and England. The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games representative also won bronze at the 2010 Laser European Championship and has tasted success away from the Laser throughout the year.

'At the start of the year I looked at the schedule and saw that I’d be competing in three World Championships and thought how good it would be to go well in all three,' said Slingsby. 'We were second at the Farr40 Worlds earlier in the year and after that I set a goal of winning the Etchells and the Laser title but didn’t really believe it would happen, so to have gotten there is an amazing feeling.'

The Australian Sailing Team member’s victory is all the more impressive when you consider that just two years ago he languished 22nd at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and he then finished 17th at the 2009 Laser World Championship.

'After the Olympics, going in as one of the favourites and coming away with 22nd, I was really destroyed,' said Slingsby. 'I wondered if I wanted to do it again and after a few months I decided to go again but I would take it a bit easy, but then last year I was taking it a bit easy, not training so much and I was just getting flogged at every regatta so I decided to pick up the training and go back to my schedule to win, and I have been working hard since and the results are starting to pay.'

'Victor Kovalenko, the Australian Sailing Team’s head coach, always says you learn more from losing than winning and so I learned a lot about China,' he said. 'I learned how to lose and picked up the things I did wrong and how to improve them, and I have to go through the motions, I’ve learned to tick every box and go there as prepared as I can be.'

Slingsby’s coach, former Laser World Champion and Olympic medallist Michael Blackburn, was impressed with how he sailed throughout the week.

'Tom sailed exceptionally well at this event, it was one of the best regattas he’s sailed in for a long time,' said Blackburn. 'He was composed under pressure today, chipped back through the fleet when he needed to, covered Thompson when it was necessary and sailed well to take the title.'

Ashley Brunning finished the week at Hayling Island in 25th position following a hard fought fourth position to open the final day and a 42nd to finish off his 2010 Laser World Championship campaign.

In the Silver fleet James Burman held onto his overnight fifth position thanks to an 11th and fourth in Sunday’s two races.

Ryan Palk was the next best placed Australian in 13th following a second and an 11th on the final day of racing, ahead of Tom Burton in 18th.

In the Bronze fleet Klade Hauschildt ended the week eighth, with Sean Bly 14th and Thor Schoenhoff 16th.

Jared West saved his best till last finishing second and sixth in Sunday’s two races to finish 22nd, ahead of Ki-raphael Sulkowski in 24th, Ryan Stoddart in 36th and Ashley Lloyd in 52nd.

www.australiansailingteam.com.au