Olympic Sailor Sarah Macky On Form

12 July, 2004

Olympic Sailor Sarah Macky On Form Date Released:

Olympic Sailor Sarah Macky Second In Europe Open Week In Sardinia New Zealand Olympic representative Sarah Macky is showing great form competing in build-up regattas to Athens.

Macky has just finished 2nd overall in Europe Open week which is a qualification regatta for the ISAF World Europe Championships where racing gets underway overnight tonight in Sardinia, Italy. This is a great result to have immediately before the Worlds, she says.

She finished behind another strong contender in the Olympic Europe class, Siren Sundby of Norway. Macky notes that, “In the onshore conditions that we had 3 of the 4 days, Siren still has a break on the fleet because she is so fast downwind, but in the offshore wind that we had on the last day it is much more even.

In ISAF ranked regattas Macky hasn't finished outside the top ten in two years. This year she placed 8th in the XXXV Princess Sofia Trophy at Palma de Mallorca, 6th in the Spa Regatta in the Netherlands and 4th at the Olympic Qualifying Regatta in France.

Although effectively results from Open Week have little impact for most competitors who have already pre-qualified to compete at the Europe World Championship's this week, it is an indication of form given that the Olympic Games are only 32 days away.

It also gives Macky a chance to fine tune her equipment and gain some valuable time on the water. The new mast that I got earlier in the year hasn't been tested much in windy conditions. I was very happy with my boat speed in the windy races, and also I made some good improvements with my down-winds, says Macky.

To see the full results and follow the ISAF World Europe Championships you can visit the regatta website:

ENDS

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