Lucas sails into waters at World Cup in Weymouth, Portland

The British sailor returns to the venue where she won Paralympic gold in the 2.4mR class. 08 Jun 2015
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Women in sailing boat

Helena Lucas becomes the first British athlete selected for Rio 2016

ⒸBritish Paralympic Association
By Bradley Neen | For the IPC

Helena Lucas will have fond memories when she returns to Weymouth and Portland in Great Britain, the site where she won Paralympic gold in the 2.4mR class.

The British sailor is among the para-athletes preparing to close out the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing World Cup series, as the final installment begins on Wednesday (10 June) on the venue that hosted the competitions at the London 2012 Games.

The regatta, which concludes on Saturday (13 June), features three Paralympic classes and welcomes the return of the two-person SKUD-18 class, which took a break in April’s Hyeres regatta in France.

Lucas, who was selected as the sole 2.4mR British athlete for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, will be joined by fellow British sailors Megan Pascoe and Will Street, both teaming up to compete in the SKUD-18 class.

“The biggest challenge for us [in Weymouth] will be just learning a new boat so quickly – learning what makes it go fast,” Pascoe said.

Pascoe and Street will have to get past defending London 2012 champions Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch. The Australian duo head into the SKUD-18 race fresh off a victory at the Delta Lloyd Regatta last week.

They are also riding momentum from wins in the last two ISAF World Cups in Melbourne, Australia, in December and Miami, USA, in January.

In the three-person sonar class, a Norwegian team consisting of Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Per Eugen Kristiansen and Marie Solberg top the world rankings; they look to build off their gold-medal win from the Miami World Cup in January.

The World Cup event will be the last major competition before the World Championships take place in November in Melbourne, Australia.

To follow the World Cup event in Weymouth and Portland, visit the ISAF’s website.