G4S 49ers put in a strong performaance on the Olympic course at the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta as part of the London Prepares Series
19 August 2011
Having secured their position at the Test Event with a bronze medal in June’s Sail for Gold Regatta, Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes were looking for a solid performance on the Olympic course.
After capsizing earlier in the week the pair put in an outstanding performance in tough conditions on Wednesday taking one outright win and a second place. Having narrowed the margin between them and the third place New Zealand crew to just 5 points on the penultimate day of racing, the final day’s action would once again see the medal race for the 49ers class.
Despite a strong performance the Exmouth pair were unable to secure the two boat lead they needed over the New Zealand crew to reach the podium, finishing fourth in the standings.
Although the pair were disappointed with their overall fourth position they insist they will learn more from a tough week than they might otherwise have.
“It’s been a pretty good learning experience,” said Rhodes. “Last cycle we won the test event but we feel like we didn’t come away from that with as much as we probably have learned from this event.
“I think there will be a lot more lessons from this that we can use to progress and move on a lot more. Our coach has seen a lot of things that he thinks we can work on. In the long run it will be a good thing, we’re not worried”
G4S 4teen sailor Juan Maegli improved on his 40th place positioning at June’s Sail for Gold achieving a respectable 21st in a tough fifty-six strong field in the Laser class.
Last year G4S arranged for Jaun to train with GBR’s Olympic Champion Paul Goodison in the UK who claimed the final race win in the Laser class securing a Bronze medal position overall.
“Weymouth bay is very different from the conditions I get back home. The weather is different (just a tiny bit colder!), wind is stronger and the waves are bigger. Back home, I sail in lakes so I also have to get used to the current which can be a determining factor here in Weymouth. It is very useful to be training here and I am looking to do more training next year before the games. “said Maegli.
“I’m really quite pleased with the team’s performance,” said RYA Olympic Manager Stephen Park.
“We had a goal to try and win four medals at this event so to come away with six is fantastic-it could quite easily have been seven.”
Skandia Team GBR have proven that they are medal competitive in this venue giving us strong hopes for next summers’ Games.
Skandia Team GBR’s final medal standings at the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta 2011
Gold (1)
Ben Ainslie (Finn)
Silver (3)
Nick Dempsey (RS:X Men)
Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark (470 Women)
Ian Percey and Andrew Simpson (Star)
Bronze (2)
Bryony Shaw (RS:X Women)
Paul Goodison (Laser)