Day three brought all the Australians into racing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Test Event in Marseille, France. The breeze may have gone back a little more East, and even offered an extra little bit of pace, but it retained all its challenges for the Aussies on the racecourse. 

Results ran both ends of the spectrum, but generally were shared out across the board. A brilliant second place in the last race of the day saw Matt Wearn climb into third place overall, with all six results to date in the top ten.

“Definitely having to work extremely hard in the testing conditions we have had,” said Wearn. “Still plenty to do over the next few days, so I will save that smile until it's finished.”

Nia Jerwood and Conor Nicholas CREDIT World Sailing

Fellow Western Australians Nia Jerwood and Conor Nicholas posted a third and a fourth in the mixed 470 to climb into sixth place overall.

Nicholas spoke on behalf of his crew and was clearly aware of the magnitude of the day. “We are very pleased with today, those results are massive for us. Now we must build from here and make our mark on the fleet as we get closer to the end of qualifying.”

Australia’s 49erFX team of Olivia Price and Evie Haseldine sit in fifth overall, after opening their account with a second place in the first race of the day. The relatively new pairing will no doubt be looking to find greater consistency moving forward, but can definitely take heart in knowing they can be at the front of the fleet. 

“It was a day of everything out there, so adapting and recalibrating quickly was the key,” commented Price. “We had a good first race and stuck to what we saw out there. The second race was a bit trickier for us and didn’t find our groove that well, but the third race was again a keeper.

“We’re getting closer to putting all the pieces of the puzzle together and excited to keep up the tight racing with the fleet.”

Olivia Price and Evie Haseldine CREDIT World Sailing

In 11th place overall with a fourth place in the last race are Jim Colley and Shaun Connor in the 49er skiff. Connor said afterwards, “Super tricky conditions out there with the breeze shifting through a wide range and almost vacuums of wind at times.

“We started behind the ball today, then compounding it with a few mistakes and making it hard for ourselves. We’re looking to get on top of the first part of our races tomorrow, there were lots of good moments out there for us and things to take forward.”

Dual Olympian and Rio silver medallist Lisa Darmanin with new helm and two-time Olympic Silver Medallist Darren Bundock are driven by a fire as big as a forge at a steel plant. Although results did not go to plan in the pairing’s inaugural Nacra 17 partnership, the combination is 16th overall with a keen desire to convert today’s learnings into action on day two of racing. 

“It was a shame to get a UFD in the second race (meaning they were over at the start and unable to compete in that race),” said Darmanin. “There were two other boats as well, so obviously pushing the line.

“The scorecard doesn’t really reflect how we feel about the day. These teams have been sailing together for years and we’ve done about three weeks, so we have some catching up to do, but we will get there.”

470 fleet racing CREDIT World Sailing

Yesterday, Zoe Thomson had a DSQ as her drop (discarded result) in the ILCA 6 after losing a protest. Unfortunately, today she was Black Flagged (scrubbed after finishing fourth) in the first race and collects the maximum of 39 points to add to her tally. This has sent her back to 17th place overall. Coming back to post a tenth place in the final race of the day is what she will use to remain motivated moving forward.

Capturing the true Aussie spirit, Murray Whitehead (Formula Kite representative Scott’s father) said, “I think he will tell you to send wind, or a bigger kite.”
Racing continues tomorrow as crews make sure they qualify for the all-important, double points medal races at the end of the regatta.

Visit the event website for full results.

Australian results at the Olympic Test Event: 

ILCA 7 – 42 Entries
3rd - Matt Wearn OAM – 1, 7, 5, (10), 5, 2 (20 points)

49erFX – 24 Entries
5th - Olivia Price and Evie Haseldine – 2, (19), 8 (10 points)

Mixed 470 – 17 Entries
6th - Nia Jerwood and Conor Nicholas – 7, (16), 16, 2, 3, 4 (32 points)

Men’s iQFOiL – 22 Entries
7th - Grae Morris – 9, 3, (24), 10 (22 points)

49er – 28 Entries
11th - Jim Colley and Shaun Connor – (16), 15, 4 (19 points) 

Women’s Formula Kite – 20 Entries
12th - Breiana Whitehead – 7, 10, 10, (16), 12, 12, 8, (13) (59 points)

Nacra 17 – 18 Entries
16th - Darren Bundock and Lisa Darmanin – 17, (19 UFD), 11 (28 points)

ILCA 6 – 38 Entries
17th - Zoe Thomson – 11, 8, 13, (39 DSQ), 39 BFD, 10, (81 points)

Men’s Formula Kite – 20 Entries
17th - Scott Whitehead – (20), 10, 12, (17), 16, 15, 16, 16, 15 (100 points)

Words by John Curnow.