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'This event has been highly successful at a number of levels,' stated IFDS Technical Delegate, Pauline HARRISON.

'The FESPIC Games Sailing Competition has involved ten Asian countries, many of which are new to international competition. The sailors range from one past and a promising number of emerging Paralympians, to one who sailed on the sea for the first time here on the Strait of Malacca. All have gained from the experience. The rising standard of sailing reflected the growing support of their national sailing authorities.'

'The venue at Port Dickson is magnificent. All the competitors have enjoyed themselves ashore and delivered some outstanding performances on the water,' she said.

TAN Wins Gold

The Men's Access 2.3 division was won by the most disabled sailor entered in the event - 20 year old Singaporean Jovin TAN. Consistent light weather boat speed, good tactics and great starts were the hallmarks of his success. Matrin AL MUSTAKIN (MAS) improved throughout the regatta and finished the event with three first places to elevate him to the silver medal position in a tiebreak with Duncan MACGREGOR (AUS) who had led the results table for the first three days.

The Access Liberties at the start © David Staley

The Men's Liberty gold medal was won by the host country's Mustafa JUNELL, who scored five bullets out of the nine races to see him finish 4 points clear. Alson TUMBAGAHAN (PHI) claimed silver and Karim ABDUL (SIN) the bronze.

In the Women's Liberty division, Ding Zhi YUN (CHN) extended the narrow lead she held after day three to ensure she would take home the gold. Australia's Pamela MURRAY made a late charge with wins in both of today's races, but it was not enough to overcome Desiree LIM (SIN) who secured the silver medal.

Singapore And China Win Team Prizes

For the team prizes, Singapore were clear winners in the Access 2.3 combined tally, followed by Australia and Malaysia. China claimed the Liberty team prize with Singapore second and the Philippines third.

The formal Medal Presentation Ceremony will be held at Port Dickson tomorrow night ahead of the FESPIC Games Closing Ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

HARRISON went on to say that, 'Sailing is the newest sport to be included in the FESPIC Games and the KL'06 Organizing Committee, the Malaysian Yachting Association and all the enthusiastic volunteers have done a marvellous job of conducting this regatta.

'I sincerely hope that the high standards set in Port Dickson will, in the future, secure a place for sailing in the Asian Paralympic Games,' said HARRISON.

The FESPIC (Far East & South Pacific) Games are a Regional Games for athletes with a disability. This is the ninth and last FESPIC Games and will be succeeded by the Asian Paralympic Games. Sailing was included for the first time and was conducted by the Malaysian Yachting Association on behalf of KL'06, in conjunction with the International Association for Disabled sailing (IFDS). This is first IFDS Event in Asia and is seen as a very exciting step forward in developing sailing opportunities for people with disabilities in this region.

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