Olympic Champion Wearn moves into first at ILCA 7 World Championships
by Michael Martin 28 Jan 22:41 NZDT
24-31 January 2024
Matt Wearn - 2024 ILCA 7 World Championships © Jack Fletcher / Down Under Sail
On a day where many stuttered, Matt Wearn stunned with a first and third to move into the lead at the half-way point of the 2024 ILCA 7 World Championships in Adelaide.
With light, variable breezes and athletes fighting for positioning in tomorrow's finals series causing chaos elsewhere, Wearn made life easy for himself in the first race by leading from start to finish.
"I was probably helped by a few guys who liked those conditions getting black flagged (disqualified)," said Wearn of that first race.
"I managed to get around the top mark in a decent position which I had been struggling to do earlier in the week. I knew my boat speed was there so once I was in a position to utilise that it meant I could sail away a bit."
Wearn earned the praise of Australian Sailing Team ILCA 7 Coach Rafa Trujillo for his efforts.
Trujillo noted that it "looked like he had a spinnaker" in the first race, but "played it a bit too safe" off the start in the second.
"He then worked the left to round the top mark in first but lost two places on the downwind. We will need to analyse that, but we think it was a little bit of cover. He went a bit low, and the fleet followed him which happens when you are the Olympic gold medallist."
Wearn's rivalry with British sailor Micky Beckett will continue at this event. The back-to-back Princess Sofia Trophy Champion was boat of the day, winning both his races today to move into second.
Beckett finished second behind Wearn at both the Paris Olympic Test Event and World Championships last year, but the two are yet to face each other at this event as they have been allocated to different fleets on each of the three days.
That changes tomorrow when Wearn, Beckett and the other top-ranked sailors will begin two days of Finals racing in the Gold Fleet.
Wearn is one of six Aussies in Gold Fleet, with Australian Sailing Squad athletes Ethan McAullay, Luke Elliott, Zac Littlewood and Finn Alexander all making the cut - along with Australian Sailing Futures sailor Stefan Elliott-Shircore.
Littlewood added two keepers to his scorecard with a twelfth and a sixth, but it could have been much better as the Western Australian explained.
"In the second I had a good start off the pin and was leading the fleet off to the right but slipped back to sixth," said Littlewood.
The 2021 Under 21 World Champion knows he has plenty ahead of him and is pleased with how his boat speed is developing.
"I spent a lot of time after The Hague (2023 World Championships venue) working on my speed. It's not where I want it to be yet but it's in a place where I can compete and be competitive at the front of the fleet."
Winds of 13 to 18 knots are predicted for the waters off Adelaide Sailing Club tomorrow and according to Trujillo, "We just need to wake up and keep working hard because tomorrow is finals racing and that starts the serious stuff."
Racing is set to resume at 1pm ACDT tomorrow.
Visit the event website for more details or see full results here.
Australian Sailing Team (AST), Australian Sailing Squad (ASS) and Australian Sailing Futures (ASF) results at the 2024 ILCA 7 World Championships:
1st - Matt Wearn (AST/WA) - (6), 1, 2, 2, 1, 3 (9 pts)
2nd - Michael Beckett (GBR) - (17), 6, 1, 3, 1, 1, (12 points)
3rd - Hermann Tomasgaard (NOR) - 1, 1, 1, 5, 5, (7) (13 pts)
8th - Ethan McAullay (ASS/WA) - 5, 9, 1, 8, (22), 3 (26 pts)
10th - Luke Elliott (ASS/WA) - 1, 2, 5, 10, (18), 10 (28 pts)
18th - Zac Littlewood (ASS/WA) - 12, 5, (16), 4, 12, 6 (39 pts)
39th - Finn Alexander (ASS/NSW) - 9, 7, 11, 12, (28), 26 (65 pts)
48th - Stefan Elliott-Shircore (ASF/WA) - 16, 18, 20, 9, (42), 12 (75 pts)
65th - Michael Compton (ASF/WA) - 15, (32), 23, 15, 22, 30 (105 pts)
83rd - Sam King (ASF/TAS) - 20, 29, 27, 26, (36), 19 (121 pts)
109th - Lawson McAullay (ASF/WA) - 20, 29 RDG, 34, (39), 34, 36 (153 pts)
131st - Will Sargent (ASF/TAS) - (47), 43, 35, 40, 45, 35 (198 pts)