Sailors stumble but win Olympic spots

Australian sailing crews have scored berths at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics despite stumbling in their final races.

Australia's sailing team has secured spots at the Tokyo Olympics despite some late stumbles at the World Sailing Championships in Denmark.

The nation's big guns in the 470, Mat Belcher and William Ryan, failed to perform at their peak, finishing fifth overall - but were content with securing their berth in 2020.

The pair, who were silver medallists in Rio and gold medallists in London, had an opportunity to win a medal in the final race but slipped back a position to finish fourth.

"It's been a challenging week for us. But the positive side is that we got the country qualification and learnt some pretty good lessons here," Belcher said.

It was a close call for teenagers Natasha Bryant and Annie Wilmot who, despite a successful second place finish in the 49erFX class the day before, ultimately dropped to 11th and missed the medal race.

However, the pair still managed to score Australia an Olympic spot.

"Since we're quite new to the class, I feel like the stress did get to us a little bit ... when it comes to us naturally, after a lot more hard work, I think we're going to do just fine," Bryant said.

Matt Wearn and Tom Burton are currently sitting in second and sixth place respectively in the Laser fleet and will compete in the medal race on Friday night (AEST).


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world