Triple Bullet Performance as Wearn Moves Top in Hyeres
Three wins from as many races on the third day of competition at the Hyeres World Cup meet in France has put WA sailor Matt Wearn in the box seat.
With the six qualifying races now complete, Wearn moves into the gold fleet finals stage atop the leaderboard following a perfect day of racing for the reigning WAIS Athlete of the Year.
He has opened a two point gap on second place – New Zealand’s Sam Meech – and is four points clear of fellow Western Australian sailor Luke Elliott who similarly enjoyed excellent results on day three.
With 69 laser boats competing in the fleet, the group was split into two across qualifying with results then aggregated as a running total.
From this, the top half now move into gold fleet, from which the finals will be contested, culminating in the medal round at the end of competition.
Realistically, the top five sailors are all still in strong contention, but Wearn is best placed, with his current discard score of seventh, which was carded in the opening race of qualifying, being lower than those of any of his nearest competitors with the exception of fifth placed Alexander Finn, who has not earned a race win despite a consistent series to date.
Conditions in Hyeres were conducive to fast racing on Wednesday, which played into the hands of the Aussies, who are experienced competing in strong winds, as Wearn explained.
“We spend so many days of the year training in stuff like this that you’re pretty comfortable. I’ve been itching to get racing this year in these kind of conditions and to come out of the day with a perfect scorecard – you can’t really complain.
“You do have to capitalise when it’s your favourable conditions, so when you’ve got different conditions later in the regatta you’ve got it up your sleeve a bit.
The long running head to head battle between Wearn and reigning Olympic champion Tom Burton will now resume, with the pair now set to race in the same fleet following the end of qualifying.
The results in Hyeres coupled with those to follow at next week’s European Championships in Portugal, will be crucial in determining which athlete Australian Sailing selectors opt to send for the Test Event in Tokyo later in the year.
In the laser radial class, Jacinta Ainsworth continues to be best ranked of the competing WA sailors, currently in 13th position on 78 points. Zoe Thomson is 17th on 84 and Elyse Ainsworth is 28th on 115 points.