Golden finish for NSWIS sailors

Two NSWIS sailors have finished with gold medals at the Hyeres, France leg of the 2011/12 ISAF Sailing World Cup.

The first NSWIS gold of the regatta was won by Malcolm Page with his skipper Mat Belcher in the men’s 470 class. The Australian duo, who have dominated the class for several years, held an 18 point advantage leading into the final race before eventually securing their first French world cup title.

“It was great to have a bit of breeze… and we relied on that, put our heads down and went for it and came home with a good enough result,” Page said.

Page’s gold was quickly followed by fellow NSWIS athlete Liesl Tesch, who took honours in the Skud 18 class with compatriot Daniel Fitzgibbon.

Tesch, who will compete at her sixth Paralympic Games in London this year, finished only two points ahead of their competitors in the first contested event.

The medal rush continued for the NSWIS with Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen taking silver in the men’s 49er, finishing in the top eight in all nine races of the regatta.

London bound NSWIS sailor Tom Slingsby was also in action, dropping from a likely gold medal to fifth in the men’s laser after his mast broke during the medal race, while fellow NSWIS athlete Tom Burton finished one spot behind in sixth.