New Zealand sailors Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie have continued their domination of men's 49er racing at the Paris Olympics.
McHardie and McKenzie led the field after the first day - courtesy of a race win, and third and eighth placings - and delivered more of the same on Monday (Tuesday NZ Time), with an eighth-place finish followed by two victories.
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The results mean that after six races – halfway through the regatta – the Kiwis have a clear lead. After discarding their worst performance, they have 22 points, well ahead of Ireland (41) and Spain (44) in the 20-boat fleet.
McKenzie said he and McHardie were pleased to walk away with two wins on day two of racing in Marseille.
“They were extremely light conditions, and it was so hot. We had to fight for every metre.”
The New Zealanders have been buoyed to receive messages of encouragement from Blair Tuke and Peter Burling, who won gold in Rio and silver medals in London and Tokyo in the 49er class.
Tuke and Burling have America’s Cup duty in August, so were unavailable for the Olympics, but McHardie and McKenzie have slotted in ably.
“We’ve been stoked to be getting such encouraging messages from them and they’ve told us we now need to go out there and finish the job.”
Unfortunately, Jo Aleh and Molly Meech in the women’s 49erFX were again unable to hit their best form.
The pair, Olympic gold and silver medallists, went into the second day’s racing in 20th and last place. On the second day, they improved marginally with ninth, 17th and eighth placings and have moved to 19th overall.
There was time for windsurfer Josh Armit to get his Olympics started. In his first outing, Armit finished fourth, 16 seconds behind the winner, Nicolas Goyard of France, an encouraging beginning.
In the women’s windsurfing, Veerle ten Have has had two races, recording a disqualification and a 15th place, to leave her 21st overall.
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