Paris Olympic sailing: Games veteran begins comeback in Nacra 17, Australian results at Test event
The comeback to Olympic class racing of two-time silver medalist Darren Bundock has begun in Marseille with Lisa Darman in the Paris Olympics Test event. This comes as a number of his Australian teammates progress up the point score following a day of tough circumstances.
Prior to hitting the water together on Wednesday, Bundock and crewmate Lisa Darmanin, who won a silver medal at the Rio Olympic Games along with Bundock's nephew Jason Waterhouse, have had fewer than three weeks to practice together.
In the foiling mixed Nacra 17 boat, the pair had a 17th, a 19th due to breaking the start of the second race, and an 11th position on day one, which put them in 16th place overall after the competition. Their goal was to qualify Australia for a slot in the Paris Olympics.
Lisa Darmanin, a sailor from the Northern Beaches, remarked, "The scorecard doesn't really reflect how we feel about the day."
We've been sailing for only three weeks, while these teams have been together for years; we have some ground to make up, but we will.
Australian single-handed ILCA-7 sailor and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Matt Wearn finished second at the Test event, moving him up to third position overall on the points ladder with a 1-7-5- (10)-5-2 scorecard.
Sydney's Olivia Price and Evie Haseldine finished the first day of 49erFX racing in fifth position overall, after placing second, nineteenth, and eighth respectively.
"We're getting closer to putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together and excited to keep up the tight racing with the fleet," said Price, who hails from Sydney's inner west and won the silver medal in the match-racing competition at the London Olympic Games.
Nia Jerwood and Conor Nicholas, who compete together in the mixed 470 event, are the next best Australians.
With results of 7-16-2-3-4, the duo is now placed sixth in the competition.
On day two, Jim Colley and Shaun Connor are 11th in the 49er skiffs and Grae Morris is seventh in the iQFOiL (9-3-24-10). In the Formula Kite, Breiana Whitehead is 12th (7-10-10-16)-12-12-8. Zoe Thomson is 17th in the ILCA 6 (11-8-13-(39 DSQ)-39 BFD-10), and Scott Whitehead is 17th in the Formula Kite (20-10-12-17-16-15-16-16-15).
SYDNEY, BEIJING OLYMPIC MEDALLIST’S SURPRISE SAILING COMEBACK
Earlier In response to an urgent request for help, one of Australia's top sailors of the previous two decades is returning to Olympic competition in the years leading up to Paris 2024.
Darren Bundock, coach of the Australian sailing team, is back in competition after winning silver in the Tornado class at the Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008 Olympics (both before the catamaran was removed from the Olympic program).
Lisa Darmanin's Olympic sailing partner and new father, Jason Waterhouse, just left for an America's Cup program, leaving her high and dry less than a year away from the Paris Olympics.
Bundock, the mixed Nacra 17 team's coach, has stepped up and is racing in the foiling class to increase Australia's chances of qualifying for the Olympic regatta in Marseilles.
One of Australia's most accomplished Olympic class sailors, Bundock trained Waterhouse and Darmanin at the Tokyo and Rio Olympics, and will now sail as a partner with Darmanin during the crucial Olympic test event in Paris.
Bundock stated that he looked into other opportunities for Darmanin before filling the vacancy because he did not want one of Australia's most talented female sailors to be forced to retire from the sport.
Bundock confirmed that he spoke to a number of the world's top sailors, such as the Australian multiple Olympian and 2012 gold medallist Nathan Outteridge, who is also from the Central Coast. Bundock also confirmed that he spoke to his old crewmate Glenn Ashby, a world-class sailor from Bendigo, and the multiple-time 49er world champion Chris Nicholson, but none of them were available to campaign.
Outteridge, who is from Wangi Wangi and is currently working with an America's Cup team in preparation for the competition that will take place the following year in Barcelona, was the top candidate because he had previously sailed a Nacra 17.
According to Bundock, who resides on the Central Coast of New South Wales, "I'm a bit of a last resort."
"Lisa has finished in third place three times at the world championships, and she has an Olympic medal to her name (she won silver at the Rio Olympics).
"Lisa came to the conclusion that she would adore working on a campaign in Paris, so that's where we are.
"At this point, our primary focus is simply on qualifying the nation, and we will determine our next steps based on those results."
We don't want someone of her caliber to give up sailing, and she would have to be the best and highest-ranked female sailor in the world.
Before the matter is reassessed, the two will compete in the Test event and the world championship in the Netherlands next month.
Bundock, who is now in his 50s, is still actively competing at a high level in foiling racing, most recently placing fourth in the A-Class world championships.