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16 July 2009, 07:12 pm

British Teams Tie For Top Spot At 49er Worlds

Gold fleet racing starts tomorrow at Garda

©Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

49er World Championship 2009

Riva del Garda, Italy

British teammates Stevie MORRISON and Ben RHODES, and John PINK and Rick PEACOCK had a battle on the water to determine who would top the leaderboard going into the finals for the 49er World Championship.

Three races were held for the 89 teams in winds of a consistent 18 knots once the Ora filled in on Lake Garda. Stevie MORRISON and Ben RHODES began with a win in the first race of the day but slipped with a 4, 8 while John PINK and Rick PEACOCK sailed a consistent 2, 2, 3 to bring them to the even tie.

Nico DELLE - KARTH and Nikolaus RESCH of Austria slipped from second to fourth at the end of the day with the SIBELLO brothers, Pietro SIBELLO and Gianfranco SIBELLO (ITA), posting a 4, 2, 1 and finishing one point behind the first place duos.

Friday begins the finals with some rain forecast for the area. The top 25 from qualifying now comprise the gold fleet with the remainder split into silver and bronze.

Outside of racing, many sailors are using the fantastic Garda winds to log their fastest times in the SEIKO Speed Challenge posting speeds of 19-20 knots on the lake, verified by Velocitek speed pucks. Both the racing and speed challenge will continue through the weekend with the prizegiving scheduled after the medal race on Sunday.

Results - click here

Jerelyn Biehl (As Amended By ISAF)