Australia dominate waters at Delta Lloyd Regatta

“This win is a really good psychological advantage for us going into [the Rio 2016 Paralympics] and it gives us a good indication of what we need to work on at home and in preparation for the next stage of regattas, including the World Championships at the end of the year in Melbourne, [Australia].”

Australia topped the podium at the 2015 Delta Lloyd Regatta, which concluded on Saturday (30 May) in Medemblik, the Netherlands, and saw three Paralympic classes compete.

Australia took home medals in each class, including two golds that came from London 2012 Paralympic gold medallists Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch in the SKUD-18, and Paralympians Colin Harrison, Russell Boaden and Jonathan Harris in the sonar.

Three-person keelboat – sonar

Points were tight in the sonar class for Harrison, Boaden and Harris all week. The triumvirate won both races on Tuesday (26 May), before slipping to second overall in the 12-boat fleet. Despite heading into the final race day ranked second behind France, the crew finished with a splash by winning the last two races to bring home the overall win.

“It was an important event for us, because all countries were well represented across all three classes, so it has been a good and tough competition. All the top teams were here,” Harrison said.

France’s Bruno Jourdren, Eric Flageul and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary won the silver, followed by Norway’s Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Marie Solberg and Per Eugen Kristiansen for the bronze.

Two-person keelboat – SKUD-18

It was the first European regatta this year for Fitzgibbon and Tesch, who both started the event in second behind archrivals Great Britain. But with three race wins over the last two days, the pair moved into the lead on the penultimate day of racing. Racing was cancelled for the skud-18 on the final day due to the rough conditions, which meant a win for the pair. Great Britain’s Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell took the silver, and bronze went to Dutch sailors Rolf Schrama and Sandra Nap.

“It was a great experience to come back from behind but quite disappointing that we did not get to race on the last day,” Tesch said.

“This win is a really good psychological advantage for us going into [the Rio 2016 Paralympics] and it gives us a good indication of what we need to work on at home and in preparation for the next stage of regattas, including the World Championships at the end of the year in Melbourne, [Australia].”

The Delta Lloyd Regatta marked the third regatta win in a row after the pair won the World Cups in Melbourne in December and in Miami, USA, in January.

One-person keelboat – 2.4mR

France’s Damien Seguin spoiled Australia’s run for a golden sweep by taking the 2.4mR event. Germany’s Keiko Kroger finished second, followed by Australia’s Matt Bugg securing the bronze medal.

The Delta Lloyd Regatta served as a warmup for the upcoming International Sailing Federation (ISAF) World Cup on 8-14 June in Weymouth, Great Britain, held at the same venue where the London 2012 Paralympic event was held.

Visit the event website for complete results of the Delta Lloyd Regatta.