Wearn Toasts Euro Title with Champagne Sailing in Porto

Matt Wearn toasted victory at the European Laser Championships in Porto to win a second straight title following an impressive late comeback.

2019 is shaping as a very good vintage for Wearn, with his victory at the European titles coming against a world class field that boasted a full allocation of podium athletes from both the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and 2018 World Championship events.

Having fought back from 10th place earlier in the regatta – which had been characterised by light winds – Wearn found extra fizz heading into the final day, with strong winds and perfect conditions for his racing style propelling him to the top of the podium and a morale boosting win.

“Today was champagne sailing; 10 to 18 knots with great waves,” Wearn said of his victory in Portugal.

“Again, I really enjoyed the conditions and managed to grab the win after the last race.

“It feels great to take the win in such a competitive fleet,” he said.

Australian Olympic champion Tom Burton had held the whip hand heading into the final races before the medal round, but he faltered to card his three biggest scores (18, 16 (21)) as Wearn in contrast found his best form to score a race win and a pair of seconds to catapult himself to gold as Burton slid from the podium into fourth place – just two points off silver.

That represented just how the tight the leaderboard had been throughout the regatta, with reigning world champion Pavlos Kontides managing seventh place overall, just 14 points adrift of the bronze medal position.

Wearn’s victory in Porto will now see him take great form and confidence into his next major event, the 2019 Laser World Championships which will be held in Japan from July 2. A similar performance at those championships to the one achieved in Porto, would be a big boost to his prospective Olympic selection hopes for Tokyo in 2020.

Luke Elliott was bumped from the top 10 spots in Porto, to eventually finish in 13th position. A costly black flag disqualification in race seven had derailed his momentum and the excellent form he’d shown in the opening six races, but he has once again demonstrated that he can mix it with the very best at major competitions.

In the European Laser Radial Championships, Elyse Ainsworth was the best performed of the Western Australian athletes, taking 42nd position in the 120 boat fleet.

Zoe Thomson fetched 62nd place, whilst Jacinta Ainsworth was 65th.