NSWIS sailors and wheelchair racers continue good form on day 6

NSWIS sailors Liesl Tesch and Dan Fitzgibbon have maintained their lead in the two-person kneelboat (SKUD18) on day two of the Paralympic sailing regatta at the Marina da Gloria by comfortably winning their only race of a challenging and interrupted day.

The defending Paralympic champions finished almost a minute ahead of the second placed Polish crew and more than three minutes ahead of the Canadians to bring their three race results list to two wins and a second.

Tesch and Fitzgibbon faced conditions that weren’t to their liking, yet their experience and sound preparation shone through.

“It doesn’t get harder than that today, the waiting around, we’re not going to sail, we are going to sail,” Fitzgibbon told the Australian Paralympic Committee, adding that the strong tides and light winds made for one of the toughest sailing conditions he had raced in.

“You just have to keep calm and be ready to race at any minute. It’s just experience. We’ve done it a lot now.

“I’m pretty proud of us as a team, the way we did it. We thought it through and made some really good decisions.”

The pair now hold a commanding lead in the standings with just four points, five clear of the Canadian duo of Jackie Gay and John McRoberts. Great Britain are third a further two points in arrears.

The sailors can expect a busy day on day 7 with three races scheduled after the second race on day 6 was rescheduled due to the conditions.

The third NSWIS sailor in action, Jon Harris, who is partnered with teammates Russell Boaden and Colin Harrison in the three-person kneelboat (Sonar) class, finished fifth in their only race of the day.

In an incredibly tight finish the Australians were just 21 seconds behind the winning Canadian crew with the first three boats separated by just two seconds.

Harris told the Australian Paralympic Committee’s media team said the gusts of wind created by aircraft landing at a nearby airport had effected the result.

“As the jets land overhead, they throw down a lot of wind,” crewman Jon Harris explained.

“In fact, Norway, who eventually came second, was perfectly positioned and shot ahead during one of these incidents.
“Then on the last square run we actually took advantage of it and went ahead of a number of boats coming into that last square run. You just had to line yourself up with jets. This is unique. It will change the result.”

After three races in Rio the Australian trio have maintained their overnight lead and with eight points, sit three ahead of Canada and four clear of Greece.

At the athletics, Madison de Rozario (pictured above) and Kurt Fearnley were both fifth in their respective finals of the T54 1500m, while Christie Dawes was eighth behind de Rozario in the women’s event.

Competing in her third Paralympics at 22, de Rozario has now finished inside the top five in four individual Paralympic events but is yet to win an elusive medal. The Bachelor of Sports Science and Secondary Education student at Murdoch University did however help Australia to a silver medal in the 4x100m in Beijing when she was just 14-years-old.

De Rozario will compete in the 5000m and 4x400m on day 7, before contesting the 800m later in the program.

Fellow NSWIS athlete Jodi Elkington-Jones will also be in action on day 7, contesting the final of the Long Jump, F37.