Josh Junior holds 2nd after day 2 2016 Finn European Champs

Josh Junior holds 2nd after day two 2016 Finn European Champs

New Zealand’s Josh Junior has jumped to 2nd overall after day two of the 2016 Finn European Championships n now in Barcelona, Spain.

The massive fleet of Olympic heavy-weight dinghy campaigners, featuring two of the NZL Sailing Team who are in the build-up to Rio 2016, sailed two races today, and have another four days of racing yet to come.

Junior, from the Worser Bay Boating Club in Wellington, was lying 8th going into today and has improved in the standings after placing 6th in today’s first race and then winning the next.

“It was a really epic day and nice to win one,” said Josh Junior after racing. “I just had a good start, sailed up the middle of the course, rounded the top mark in the top 10 and I was going really quick downwind so managed to get up to first and held on from there.”

“Today ended up being an awesome sailing breeze. We had 12 to 14 knots and the waves got up really big and choppy so it was fun downwind. I think tomorrow it's going to go offshore so could be a completely different day.”

Milan Vujasinovic of Croatia retains his day one lead and is the early standout in the fleet. He leads with seven points, with Junior from New Zealand eight points behind on 15. Then there is a ten point gap back to 3rd place held by Zsombor Berecz from Hungary.

Andrew Murdoch, who represents both the Kerikeri Cruising Club and the Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club, has also improved his overall position after today. The two-time Olympian was 26th in race two and 4th in race three and lifts to 13th overall.

John Cutler, Olympic bronze medallist in the Finn at Soeul 1988, is coach to the NZL Sailing Team Finn squad.

Exactly five months from today, on 9 August 2016, racing at the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Regatta gets underway on Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro. The battle for the only Finn spot for New Zealand is likely to be one of the toughest decisions selectors will face.

2016 Finn European Championships
New Zealand’s current standings

2nd Josh Junior (8, 6, 1)
13th Andrew Murdoch (19, 26, 4)
79th Brendan McCarty (77, 70, 76)

About the event
The 2016 Senior and Junior European Championship is being held at the Barcelona International Sailing Centre in Spain from 4 to 12 March. An opening series of ten races will be followed by the medal race for the top ten on Saturday 12 March.
The event website is: 2016.finneuropeans.org

ENDS

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