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For Kiwi 49erFX sailors Jo Aleh and Molly Meech, a third place at the French Olympic Week in Hyeres represents more than just their first silverware at a major international regatta since teaming up two years ago.
It also signifies progress, says Aleh, and with the Olympic Games now less than three months away, that is as invaluable as the bronze medals around their necks.
Aleh and Meech finished third overall in a nine-boat women's skiff fleet when the scheduled medal race was cancelled due to extreme winds overnight (NZ time). The pair secured the podium spot with strong results across 14 qualifying races, including two race wins.
Gold went to Dutch crew Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz, with Vilma Bobeck and Rebecca Netzler of Sweden taking out silver.
It was only the second time Aleh and Meech had qualified for the medal race at a top regatta since joining forces in early 2022.
Though the duo have just been selected for the seventh Olympics between them, they have been in a race against time to perfect their partnership in the boat.
Olympic sailing starts on July 28 in Marseille.
"It was a pretty tricky regatta in terms of the conditions, and a much smaller fleet than usual, but we are happy we got the chance to practice a regatta full of medal race style races, and check in against the best," Aleh, a two-time Olympic medallist in the women's 470, says.
"We don’t read too much into the results, but we're happy to take some race wins and also know we left a few more on the table. It's good to see where we are making progress, but also to highlight what we need to work on in the coming months."
Aleh and Meech in action in Hyeres. Photos / Sailing Energy
The Kiwis will enjoy a few days off before heading to Marseille, where they will be based for the rest of their build-up to the Games.
"There is still plenty to do and the runway is rapidly shortening, so we just have to keep pushing," Aleh says.
Tom Saunders had to settle for fifth overall in a quality ILCA 7 fleet after his medal race, too, was abandoned.
Saunders finished only nine points behind Germany's Philipp Buhl in third, with Brit Michael Beckett and Matt Wearn (Australia) first and second, respectively.
Though the former world champion was pleased with his progress since finishing 10th at the Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma de Mallorca, Spain three weeks ago, he was ruing another sluggish start to the regatta.
"It was a better week relative to Palma and that was the target," Saunders says.
"While that was a good step forward I’m still a bit disappointed with my consistency. I can’t afford to get off to a slow start come Games time, so I need to be ready from day one."
Following a short stint in New Zealand, Saunders will also continue his Olympic build-up in Marseille.
"It's all about preparation now, and it's nice to turn the focus solely to the Games venue."
Tom Saunders was fifth in the ILCA 7 fleet. Photos / Sailing Energy
Earlier, Josh Armit and Veerle ten Have both qualified for the medal series of the men's and women's windfoil competitions, while Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie narrowly missed out on a top 10 spot in the 49er event.
Earlier this month, McHardie and McKenzie were selected to the Olympic sailing team along with Armit, ten Have, Saunders, Aleh, Meech, Erica Dawson and Micah Wilkinson (Nacra 17).
Still trying to book their spots on the start line in Marseille, are Greta Pilkington (ILCA 6), who impressed with her 16th place in Hyeres, as well as Lukas Walton-Keim (men's kitefoil) and Justina Kitchen (women's kitefoil).
Results and standings from the 2024 French Olympic Week regatta in Hyeres, France:
49erFX fleet (9 boats)
1. Odile van Aanholt/Annette Duets (Ned) 4 2 2 5 1 1 2 4 (6) 3 5 4 1 2 - 36 points
2. Vilma Bobeck/Rebecca Netzler (Swe) (8) 5 5 1 5 2 6 5 1 1 2 3 2 1 - 39 pts
3. Jo Aleh/Molly Meech (NZ) 7 1 4 2 3 3 (9) 9 7 2 1 2 8 5 - 54 pts
49er fleet (30 boats)
1. Diego Botin/Florian Trittel (Esp) 5 (18) 10 4 3 9 1 1 2 3 8 5 1 12 - 64 pts
2. Dominik Buksak/Szymon Wierzbicki (Pol) 6 19 2 2 5 3 6 5 9 (22) 6 2 6 10 - 81 pts
3. Erwan Fischer/Clément Pequin (Fra) 1 20 12 1 16 (23) 5 8 3 1 2 1 10 9 - 89 pts
12. Isaac McHardie/Will McKenzie (NZ) 28 2 11 13 7 (BFD31) 4 15 15 15 10 9 5 14 - 148 pts
20. Campbell Stanton/Will McKenzie (NZ) 8 12 23 25 (28) 15 11 11 13 20 4 28 28 23 - 221 pts
23. Seb Menzies/George Lee Rush (NZ) 18 27 (29) 22 24 27 26 21 19 14 12 20 20 22 - 272 pts
ILCA 6 fleet (69 boats)
1. Charlotte Rose (USA) 8 19 (23) 1 2 5 4 3 2 - 44 pts
2. Marit Bouwmeester (Ned) 1 10 7 3 4 3 (70BFD) 1 18 - 47 pts
3. Line Flem Hoest (Nor) 7 (42) 8 4 17 4 11 8 4 - 63 pts
16. Greta Pilkington (NZ) 24 5 25 25 13 10 20 31 (41) - 154 pts
ILCA 7 fleet (68 boats)
1. Michael Beckett (GBR) 3 1 (18) 8 5 3 5 3 10 - 38 pts
2. Matt Wearn (Aus) 8 5 6 1 6 1 4 8 (9) - 39 pts
3. Philipp Buhl (Ger) 7 20 7 5 9 7 7 1 (27) - 63 pts
5. Tom Saunders (NZ) 15 (44) 1 18 4 6 8 15 5 - 72 pts
60. Caleb Armit (NZ) 48 46 63 52 49 (69BFD) 59 32 64 - 413 pts
Women's windfoil fleet (25 boards)
1. Tamar Steinberg (Isr) (16) 1 (9) 1 1 3 8 8 1 1 - 22 pts
2. Mina Mobekk (Nor) 2 9 (18) (19) 2 2 1 1 2 - 17 pts
3. Palma Čargo (Cro) (14) (18) 5 6 4 11 5 5 1 2 3 - 36 pts
9. Veerle ten Have (NZ) 4 (15) (11) 11 3 1 11 11 6 - 41 pts
17. Stella Bilger (NZ) 15 17 3 16 13.25RDG 18 (21) (21) - 82.25 pts
Men's windfoil fleet (35 boards)
1. Ethan Westera (Aru) (17) (15) 1 7 6 8 9 12 12 2 2 1 - 55 pts
2. Grae Morris (Aus) (27) 3 1 (5) 1 1 4 1 1 2 - 12 pts
3. Nacho Baltasar (Esp) (31) (19) 7 1 5 3 2 11 11 1 1 3 - 40 pts
8. Josh Armit (NZ) 5 1 5 (11) (9) 5 5 7 7 8BFD - 35 pts
22. Thomas Crook (NZ) 9 21 23 (37BFD) (37) 19 22 8 (24) 24 - 126 pts
Women's kitefoil fleet (24 boards)
1. Jessie Kampman (Fra) (5) 2 (4) 3 3 2 (8) 2 1 1 3 1 3 1 - 21 pts
2. Eleanor Aldridge (GBR) 2 (3) (3) (5) 2 3 1 1 3 2 1 3 2 2 - 20 pts
3. Lauriane Nolot (Fra) 9 7 1 1 1 1 3 (16DNC) (25) (17) 2 2 6 3 - 33 pts
19. Lucy Bilger (NZ) 18 (19) 19 (23) 17 16 19 18 14 18 (20) 18 17 - 174 pts
Men's kitefoil fleet (20 boards)
1. Maximilian Maeder (SGP) 1 (3) 1 1 2 (4) (5) 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 - 13 pts
2. Toni Vodisek (Slo) 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 (12DNC) (21) (12) 2 2 2 2 - 17 pts
3. Axel Mazella (Fra) 3 (7) 3 (8) 4 2 3 4 5 3 3 3 (21DNC) 3 - 33 pts
11. Lukas Walton-Keim (NZ) (16) 10 13 6 (14) 10 11 (14) 7 8 10 5 8 - 88 pts
Mixed 470 (28 boats, Last Chance Regatta)
1. Giacomo Ferrari/Alessandra Dubbini (Ita) 2 3 3 1 1 1 5 1 2 (7) 4 - 23 pts
2. Elena Berta/Bruno Festo (Ita) 1 (13) 1 2 2 2 6 2 3 8 16 - 43 pts
3. Tina Mrak/Jakob Bozic (Slo) 3 (9) 7 4 6 9 4 6 1 3 2 - 45 pts
11. Derek Scott/Rebecca Hume (NZ) 13 8 8 13 (24) 8 8 20 12 13 - 103 pts
Full results here.
