Stowell and Rechichi Claim Sail Melbourne Gold

WAIS sailing athlete Belinda Stowell and her new skipper Elise Rechichi have made a bold start to their new 470 class partnership with a dominant win at the Sail Melbourne World Cup.

Venturing into competition together for the first time, the Olympic gold medal winning pair (Stowell Sydney 2000 and Rechichi Beijing 2008) showed that their tactical nous remained as shrewd as ever, as they finished with 22 points, five clear of their nearest rivals, showing they will be dangerous at the up-coming World Championships in Perth in December.

Speaking after the Sail Melbourne win, skipper Rechichi commented that the opportunity to get more on board experience together was as important as the result itself.

“It’s nice to have the win and our first medal race together which has given us some great practice,” said Rechichi. “While it’s great to have the results it’s been an awesome opportunity to improve everyday given our short time in the boat, everyday is hugely valuable and hopefully we can keep building on that and putting in the work for Perth.

WAIS athletes Jamie Dunross and Rachel Cox finished third in Skud 18 class, with fellow Australian crew Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch claiming silver.

Preparations now focus on Perth and the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships in Fremantle from December 3.

For Sail Melbourne highlights click here.

-with Yachting Australia