Kiwi Men's Skiff Pair Stake Early Olympic Claim In Marseille

Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie have established themselves as early Olympic medal contenders, leading the men's skiff (49er) competition overall after three races on an opening day marred by fickle breezes and lengthy delays.

The Kiwi pair, competing in their first Olympics, won the first race of the day by more than a minute from Switzerland's Sebastien Schneiter and Arno de Planta, to start their campaign in the best possible way. Their fleet also includes world champions Bart Lambriex and Floris van de Werken of the Netherlands, and European champions Hernan Umpierre and Fernando Diz of Uruguay.

"It was good to be finally racing and into it; to get out there after a long build-up in Marseille," McHardie said.

"To get a race win first up... we couldn't ask for anything more. It really boosts our confidence and gets us going."

They had to work harder for the rest of the day, trailing the Dutch and Uruguayans for most of the second race in wind that barely reached 8 knots. A strong second half of the race saw the New Zealanders finish third before a poor start in the third race put them under pressure.

"The second race was very similar to the first, but we just didn't execute our start as well as we did earlier," McHardie said.

"For the third race, we shifted course, going further out into the wider bay for a bit more breeze. Once again, we didn't execute the start quite as well, but we did a really good job of finding a way back to the fleet."

Ironically, McHardie and McKenzie have recently spent a lot of time focusing on sailing in stronger winds.

"In the past, we've definitely preferred the lighter breeze, but we've been working really hard to improve our upper-range speed. It’s meant that we've probably lost a little bit of the down-range stuff, but to do well in the light today and once there was a bit more wind in the third race was very promising."

McHardie and McKenzie, dubbed the "McKiwis" by international sailing media, lead Ireland’s Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove by one point, with Umpierre and Diz a further two points back.

"We've been building up to this event for the last four years, so to be leading after day one is super exciting and a good position to be in. We're stoked, but there's still a lot of racing to go, and we'll just keep doing what we've been doing so far."

New Zealand women's skiff (49erFX) crew Jo Aleh and Molly Meech endured a tough start to their campaign, with scores of 15, 17, and a discarded 20 placing them 20th overall.

Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz, the reigning world champions, closed out the day with two race wins off the coast of Marseille to lead overall.

Racing in the men's and women's windsurfing (iQFOiL) was called off shortly after 4:30 pm local time (2:30 am NZ time), meaning Josh Armit and Veerle ten Have will have to wait at least another 24 hours to make their Games debuts.

Results and standings from day 1 of the Paris Olympic Games sailing competition in Marseille:

49er fleet (20 boats):
1. Isaac McHardie/Will McKenzie (NZ) 1 3 (8) - 4 pts
2. Robert Dickson/Sean Waddilove (IRL) (9) 4 1 - 5 pts
3. Hernan Umpierre/Fernando Diz (URU) 5 2 (14) - 7 pts

49erFX fleet (20 boats)
1. Odile van Aanholt/Annette Duetz (NED) (5) 1 1 - 2 pts
2. Sarah Steyaert/Charline Picon (FRA) (2) 2 2 - 4 pts
3. Marla Bergmann/Hanna Wille (GER) 3 4 (5) - 7 pts
20. Jo Aleh/Molly Meech (NZ) 15 17 (20) - 32 pts

© Scoop Media