Aussies dominate top five at 51st French Olympic Sailing Week in Hyeres
by Australian Sailing Team 1 May 2019 23:54 PDT
27 April - 4 May 2019
51st Semaine Olympique Française © Australian Sailing Team
Australian Sailing Team members occupy four of the top five places in the Laser class, after a strong showing on day three of competition at a windy Hyeres regatta.
Matt Wearn had a dream day, picking up three bullets from three races in the 15-18 knot winds.
"It was great to stretch the legs a bit and I was extremely happy to finish the day with three wins" he said at the conclusion of racing. "I am looking forward to the gold fleet racing tomorrow".
Luke "Swifto" Elliott was the big mover of the day, finishing with two bullets and a second in his fleet to sit third on the leader board.
Rio gold medallist Tom Burton finds himself in fourth, closely followed by teammate Finn Alexander with Kiwi Sam Meech the only non-Australian in second.
"There was a little bit of snakes and ladders for me today, with some good moments followed by giving away a bit of distance and a few points in a couple of the races" Burton said. "The racing was super close though, so I am happy to still be in with a shot with a couple of days to go".
The other Aussie in the fleet, Mitch Kennedy, picked up two fourths and a fifth to move his way up the leaderboard after starting the regatta with a BFD and 16th.
"I was really happy with how today went" Kennedy commented. "It was classic Hyeres conditions with good wind and waves across the three races. I had some good starts and managed to chip away each downwind to lock in some solid results.
The Aussies in the Laser Radial class also recorded some good results, but find themselves with a bit more work to do to leading in to the weekend's racing.
Mara Stransky is the best placed, with 8th, 10th and 16th places leaving her in 9th overall.
"I did my best to make day three tough for myself beginning race five with a double capsize shortly after the start" Stransky said. "I was happy in the end that I managed to convert a dead last to a keeper (16th). I leaked quite a few places which was frustrating, but overall the day could have been a lot worse".
Racing at the French Olympic week in Hyeres will close on Saturday 4 May local time with the final Medal Races.
Australian Sailing Team Results after Day 3:
Laser (69 boats)
1st: Matt Wearn (7), 1, 2, 1, 1, 1 = 6 pts
3rd: Luke Elliot 3, (8), 3, 1, 1, 2 = 10 pts
4th: Tom Burton 4, 3, 1, (8), 6, 3 = 17 pts
5th: Finn Alexander (6), 4, 2, 5, 5, 4 = 20 pts
11th: Mitch Kennedy (BFD), 16, 5, 4, 5, 4 = 34 pts
Laser Radial (49 boats)
9th: Mara Stransky (37), 12, 14, 8, 16, 10 = 60 pts
17th: Zoe Thompson 19, 19, 4, (25), 17, 25 = 84 pts
28th: Elyse Ainsworth 34, (46), 9, 20, 20, 32 = 115 pts
Full results available here.
For more information visit the event website.