Strong opening day on Rio water for Tesch, Fitzgibbon and Harris

NSWIS sailors Liesl Tesch, Dan Fitzgibbon and Jon Harris are leading their respective sailing classes after two races each on the opening day of the Rio Paralympics sailing regatta at the Marina da Gloria.

Dynamic duo Tesch and Fitzgibbon, sailing in the two-person kneelboat (SKUD18), got off to a stunning defence of the title they won four years ago at the London Paralympics by winning their opening race and finishing runner-up in their second race of the day.

Tesch and Fitzgibbon navigated strong tides for their pair of top-two results, placing them in first position overall, three points ahead of Canada and Poland.

“We had a good first day. We’re happy to get that one out of the way,” Fitzgibbon told the Australian Paralympic Committee’s media team.

“I think it’s going to be a tough week, so we just have to be prepared for that. There’s a lot to think about out there, so you’ve got to keep your head together.”

Fitzgibbon and Tesch made an immediate impact in eight to 12 knot winds, leading at every mark in race one and finishing 45 seconds ahead of second-placed Italy. In a close second race, they finished four seconds behind Canada.

Tesch praised her partner’s focus and determination, saying they were committed to making every post a winner.

“There’s five more days of opportunities to do the best we can on a very, very tough race course,” Tesch said.

“It’s finally exciting to be out there racing another fleet on a proper racetrack. We’ve done a fair bit of training here, so to actually line up against the other boats is what we’ve come here to do – and they were as tough as we expected them to be. I think we’ve come off really well out of today but there’s another five days ahead.”

In the three-person kneelboat (Sonar) class, the NSWIS’s Jon Harris and his teammates Russell Boaden and Colin Harrison were also in top position after the day’s racing with a win and a second place from their two starts.

They began the regatta with a comprehensive 38 second win over the Canadian crew before finishing just nine seconds behind the New Zealand trio in the second race.

The Australians now sit a handy nine points clear of New Zealand, Greece and Germany.

Tesch, Fitzgibbon and Harris will all be back on the water on day 6.

(Pic: Australian Paralympic Committee)