ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami: NZL secures one gold, and looks good for another
The New Zealand Olympic sailing crews of Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech, and Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie will enjoy
tomorrow’s medal races at 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami… because they’re looking good for gold.
At the conclusion of competition today, on what was the penultimate day of the ISAF World Cup series regatta, Alexandra
Maloney and Molly Meech have an unassailable 50 point gap over 2nd place and consequently must simply show up for the
race, then return to shore to be awarded the 49erFX gold medal.
This victory earned by Maloney and Meech is in a fleet which features the big guns in the women’s Olympic skiff, and
assures them a place in this year’s limited entry ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi in October.
The 49erFX medal race is scheduled to start at 2:15pm in Miami when the battle for the minor medals will be hard fought
with just one point separating reigning world champions Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze of Brazil and Italy’s Guilia
Conti and Francesca Clapcich.
In the Women’s 470 no racing took place today and Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie go into tomorrow’s double-points medal race
19 points ahead of Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark of Great Britain. The reigning Olympic champs need to start and finish
the medal race without incurring any disqualification in order to secure the title and the gold medal.
Jo Aleh reports from Miami, “Not much happened today.. . no wind. Never even had a start sequence.
“But as a result of the lack of racing we have indeed managed to pretty much win the regatta, with a 19 point lead going
into tomorrow’s medal race, that means as long as we finish, we can't be beaten.”
“So we will just have to make sure we get around the track!! Looks like there will be breeze on again, so can't wait!”
There’s a chance for New Zealand to add to the already secure medal tally at this event with Gemma Jones and Jason
Saunders currently lying 3rd overall going into the Nacra 17 medal race, as well as Men’s 470 pair Paul Snow-Hansen and
Jason Saunders lying 4th and just two points off a podium result.
In the Nacra multihull the gap for Jones and Saunders to close on 2nd place is challenging at 17 points, and with Mandy
Mulder and Coen de Koning (NED) chasing hard and just a point behind, the kiwis will be focussing on a great final race.
New Zealand will also be represented in the Laser and Laser Radial medal races in Miami tomorrow with Andy Maloney
sailing home with a 6th place in the only Laser race sailed today to go into the final day in 5th overall. Maloney is
just one point behind Brazil’s Robert Scheidt lying 4th.
Sara Winther took a 23rd on the water today but despite that retains 9th overall and a place in the Laser Radial
starting line-up.
ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami runs from 26-31 January and 856 sailors from 63 nations are competing across the ten
Olympic and three Paralympic events. It is the second regatta in the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Series which includes
events in Melbourne (AUS), Miami (USA), Hyeres (FRA), Weymouth (GBR), Qingdao (CHN) and Abu Dhabi (UAE).
ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami
New Zealand’s standings after day five
1st Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie - Women’s 470 (2, 2, 1, 7, 1, 1, 3, 1)
1st Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech – 49erFX (1, 2, 2, 5, 9, 21, 11, 2, 5, 22, 1, 11, 10, 10 20)
4th Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox – Men’s 470 (12, 3, 11, 2, 4, 15, 11, 4)
3rd Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders – Nacra 17 (3, 1, 2, DSQ, 2, 7, 29, 14, 28, 8, 16, 9, 10, 8)
9th Sara Winther – Laser Radial (2, 2, 16, 9, 26, 13, 12, 11, 23)
5th Andy Maloney – Laser (4, 1, 10, 4, 18, 29, 24, 7, 11, 6)
13th Sam Meech – Laser (DNC, DNC, 21, 2, 4, 31, 16, 6, 16)
23rd Mike Bullot – Laser (DNC, 7, 12, 26, 14, 33, 8, 10, 2, 48)
26th Erica Dawson and Ellie Copeland – 49erFX (DNC, 21, 15, 32, 24, 33, 33, 24, 7, 29, BFD, 28, 4, 1, 13)
ENDS