News
Aussie Lasers hold out positions in the top five on day 2 at Hyeres
Published Wed 01 May 2019
Another tricky day at the 51st French Olympic Sailing Week in Hyeres saw racing called off for the Lasers’ second race due to a dying breeze.
Tom Burton tackled the conditions well posting a first, resulting in him finishing the day in third overall.
“I had a good race and got a bit of a jump at the front and held on to the finish. Another solid day so we will see what tomorrow brings,” said Burton.
Matt Wearn posted second and after dropping his earlier result he climbed up the leaderboard to second position.
“I managed a 2nd in the only race for today which I am happy with.”
“Three races scheduled for tomorrow so I am looking forward to getting some gold racing in then,” added Wearn.
Within reach and just two points behind is Finn Alexander in 4th position who, like Wearn, also came second today.
“Another tricky day with lots of subtle changes,” Finn said. “I had a solid first race finishing 2nd but made an error on the 2nd beat to lose the lead which was a little frustrating."
“We have one more day of qualifying, so keen to put down some more scores before battling it out in the finals.”
Laser Radials had better luck with a good mix of conditions, allowing the fleets to finish both races.
Mara Stransky jumped up the leaderboard to 10th position, after a solid day of racing with a 14 and 8 under her belt.
“I was struggling to get off the start line in the first race and had a bit on trying to make a comeback, but then finally I got a decent start in the last race and got to go where I wanted which was nice for a change.
“Still plenty to play for over the next few days and I'm super excited for it!” added Stransky.
Zoe Thompson had mixed results, scoring an impressive 4th result in the first race and 25th in the second which she was able to drop and maintain 17th position.
After a difficult Monday, Elyse Ainsworth picked up the pace and had a much better day scoring a nine and 20, rising from 45th to 27th position.
“I was happy to be able to put some decent races together and my aim is to just slowly chip away at the leaderboard each race and keep gaining knowledge and confidence.”
Racing at the French Olympic week in Hyeres continues Wednesday through to Friday and closes on Saturday 4 May local time with the final Medal Races.
About SOF: After 7 years as part of Sailing World Cup series, the event is back this year as "SOF", French Olympic week. Every year, the Semaine Olympique Française welcomes around 800 competitors from 60 different countries. The racing will happen across the same 10 classes that were selected for Tokyo Olympic Games.
Event website: sof.ffvoile.fr/
Full results list HERE
LASER:
2nd Matt Wearn (7), 1, 2
3rd Tom Burton (4), 3, 1
4th Finn Alexander (6), 4, 2
5th Luke Elliot 3, (8), 3
22nd Mitch Kennedy (BFD), 16, 5
LASER RADIAL:
10th Mara Stransky (37), 12, 14, 8
17th Zoe Thompson 19, 19, 4, (25)
27th Elyse Ainsworth 34, (46), 9, 20
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