Parkinson and Rechichi Enjoy Smooth Sailing in Qingdao

Published On: 12 August 2008

Gold medal hope: Parkinson and Rechichi have made a bright start

WAIS athletes Tessa Parkinson and Elise Rechichi have made a bright start to their 470 campaign finishing second in the first two races to sit in second place overall.

The 470 two person dinghy schedule sets out 10 races with a medal round following. Parkinson and Rechichi have put themselves into a strong early position to feature in the medal stage.

Conditions in Beijing have favoured the West Australian pair with light winds suiting the Australians who are lighter than most of the competitors in their fleet.

Parkinson and Rechichi are looking to follow in the footsteps of their WAIS sailing Coach, Belinda Stowell who won gold in Sydney 2000 in the same event.

The pair will race in the third round today hoping to continue their strong start. Parkinson and Rechichi sit on four points equal with the Netherlands pair of de Koning and Berkhout who won race two.