New 49erFX combination and a new initiative goes on the start-line in Auckland this week
by Michael Brown 11 Feb 2022 19:17 AEDT
11 February 2022
The Gold and Silver medals are decided at the finish of the 49erFX Medal Race - Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze hold a narrow lead on the final metres to the finish line, with Molly Meech and Alex Maloney just behind - Medal Race - 49er FX - Rio 2016 © Richard Gladwell
The other half of New Zealand's dominant 49erFX combination, Olympic Silver medalist and former World Champion, Alex Maloney, has nailed her colours to the mast with the announcement of a new crew partner for next week's Oceanbridge NZL Sailing Regatta, the class Nationals this weekend. And a new pathway to the 49er has been set up for 29er crews wanting to make it into the big-time. Yachting NZ's Michael Brown reports:
Alex Maloney wasn't sure she would continue sailing following last year's Tokyo Olympics but found in the aftermath her mind regularly returning to the water.
It's where she's spent a large part of her 29 years and she realised she still had ambitions at the highest levels.
Earlier this week Maloney pushed off the beach at Torbay with a new partner beside her, Olivia Hobbs, and went for a sail on the Hauraki Gulf. It was a low-key start to their partnership but exactly what they wanted.
While Maloney is a name familiar to most New Zealand sports fans following her success with Molly Meech on the international stage over the past decade, Hobbs is less well known but brings potential and pedigree of her own.
The 22-year-old is a former 29er world champion and was also selected to compete in last year's Youth America's Cup before it was cancelled.
Hobbs was pleasantly surprised when Maloney asked her if she wanted to team up for the 2024 Paris Olympics cycle.
"I have a lot of respect for Alex so I was really flattered when she asked me," Hobbs said. "It was a really cool opportunity that would have been hard to turn down. I’m really excited to hopefully step up to the plate."
There's also a renewed sense of excitement with Maloney.
"After Tokyo, I didn’t feel like I had finished with Olympic sailing," Maloney said. "I still love the racing and didn’t want to quite stop yet. It was then a case of looking at my options.
"Olivia had spent time in the boat and was at a really good level after four years in the FX already and I was confident that if we teamed up together we would have a realistic shot."
The pair know each other well. Hobbs and Crystal Sun were training partners for Maloney and Meech throughout the last cycle and Maloney and Hobbs regularly sailed together in training exercises.
The new partners don't have long to get ready for their first regattas, considering they will compete in the 49er and 49erFX national championships raced off Torbay, which start today. They'll then compete at next week's Oceanbridge NZL Sailing Regatta at the Wakatere Boating Club and lining up against them will be some familiar faces, Jo Aleh and Molly Meech.
A decent-sized 49erFX fleet by New Zealand standards will compete in both, with at least 10 expected at this weekend's national championships.
It's borne out of a Yachting New Zealand strategy that has encouraged a number of young male sailors jump in the 49erFX as they transition from the 29er to the 49er. The 49erFX uses the same hull as a 49er but has a smaller rig.
"The step up from a 29er to a 49er is significant," Yachting New Zealand high performance director Ian Stewart said. "The 49erFX is also an open class used at the under-23 world championships.
"It provides a great level of competition for our top and developing women's crews and helps some of our best young male sailors build the required skills to sail the larger 49er. I think it makes sense for the 49erFX to become the mixed Olympic class in the future."
Maloney and Hobbs are mapping out a plan for the rest of 2022 that is likely to see them spend extended periods in Europe training and competing before heading to September's 49erFX world championships in Canada.
They're not putting too much pressure on themselves initially, and the next fortnight will help them identify their strengths and weaknesses. But their ambitions are clear.
"We definitely have our sights set on Paris but we’re also realistic with our targets along the way," Maloney said. "We have big dreams but we’re realistic about what it will take.
"I think we are both pretty committed to the long game. We will need to work hard but we'll enjoy the ride. I think we have a lot of potential."