| MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA-(13-1-2004) Chris Nicholson/Gary Boyd (AUS) cannot be beaten in the 49er class at the Sail Melbourne Regatta this week – so it seems.
Three more races were held on Port Phillip Bay today for the Olympic class, Nicholson/Boyd from Belmont on the Central Coast of NSW winning all three for an overall score of five, showing all before them just why they will represent Australia at the Athens Olympic Games later this year.
Although this regatta is the final selection series for the Australian crew to represent, the duo cannot be beaten on points.
Kenji Nakamura/Masato Tekaki (JPN) currently hold down third place with nine races to go in the 15 race series. The pair represented at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and look set to do so again in Athens
Ilya Ermakov/Maxim Logoutenko (RUS) sit nicely in third place, just one point behind the Japanese. This is the first time since the class became an Olympic one that a Russian team has featured in a top five position.
Young brothers, Ben and Marcus Tardrew made a costly mistake today, neglecting to fill in their sign-on sheet, a daily prerequisite of the regatta, dropping them down the leaderboard to fourth overall after their stunning start yesterday.
Gold medal winner in the 470 class from Sydney 2000, Mark Turnbull, with his crew Nick Partridge, suffered damage to their boat today, cutting short their efforts in Race 4 today dropping them to fifth place overall.
Racing continues on Port Phillip Bay tomorrow. Results are provisional.
For full information, results and photos go to: www.sailmelbourne.com.au
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