Aleh and Powrie win Silver at World Champs

Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie have won the Silver medal at the Olympic class 470 World Championship missing out on the title to local favourites Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout.

The regatta has just concluded after six days of racing off the Hague, Netherlands.

The World Championship silver is a career best in the class for 24 year old Aleh and 22 year old Powrie who got together in the double-handed Olympic class just last year. This is a pinnacle event for the pair and while disappointed to miss the title the silver is an impressive result which bodes well for the young pair as they campaign towards the next Olympics in Weymouth 2012.

“To get to this level in an Olympic class Worlds takes a huge amount of time and effort, and these two have worked really hard” says Jez Fanstone, Yachting New Zealand’s Olympic Programme Director.

“No one will be more disappointed to miss out on the win that the girls themselves, this is a huge achievement for them. They will take away lessons from today that will stand them in good stead for the future”

With just one point separating the kiwis from the Dutch girls going into the high pressure medal race it was the locals who sailed the better final race finishing in third place to take the title to the delight of the local crowd. In clear, sunny conditions and a moderate south westerly, Aleh and Powrie crossed the line in seventh which secured them the silver medal.

Producing consistent results throughout the twelve race series was the key to putting the kiwis in contention for the title, who apart from a DNF due to gear failure in one race, had not finished outside the top four in any of their races until last night. Conditions were variable and challenging at times, something Aleh and Powrie took in their stride to finish ahead of teams with many years more experience.

Jo Aleh has been a stand-out since her days in the junior classes from which she progressed into the Laser Radial class representing New Zealand at the most recent Olympic Games where she finished seventh.

Aleh is at helm of the 470 pairing with Olivia Powrie who had a stint in the Yngling during the last Olympic cycle, as her crew. Aleh and Powrie combined to compete in the Women’s 420 World Championships (the feeder class to the Olympic 470) when hosted by Takapuna Boating Club in 2007 – they won the title.

In 2009 they placed sixth at the Women’s 470 World Championships.

Aleh and Powrie will travel from the Netherlands to Weymouth, England in preparation for the next key event for the NZL Sailing Team –Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta. A large team of kiwis will compete in Weymouth, accompanied by a coaching and support team that are tasked with investigating and researching the venue that will be the stage for the next Olympic sailing regatta.

Five other New Zealand teams were competing at the 470 World Championships where the Women’s and Men’s champions for 2010 have just been crowned. NZL Sailing Team crew Paul Snow-Hansen and Jason Saunders were the next best placed finishing 15th in the Men’s event. Melinda Henshaw and Bianca Barbarich-Bacher were also inside the top twenty, finishing 17th in the Women’s Championship.

The New Zealand 470 crews were supported by coaches Nathan Handley and Hamish Willcox.

2010 470 World Championships New Zealand's Final Results

Women’s 470 World Championship (62 boats)
Silver medal - Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie
17th - Melinda Henshaw and Bianca Barbarich-Bacher
47th - Sarah and Emma Berry

Men’s 470 World Championship (119 boats)
15th - Paul Snow-Hansen and Jason Saunders
26th - Geoff Woolley and Dan Willcox
48th - Francisco Lardies and Finn Drummond

About this regatta:
The International 470 Class is the class of boat used for both the men’s two person and women’s two person dinghy events at the Olympic Games. Used as Olympic equipment since 1976, where the class was sailed as an open event before the introduction of separate events for men and women in 1988, the 470 is sailed in more than 61 nations around the world.

This year 119 men and 62 women are in the Netherlands to compete for the ultimate titles of 2010 Men’s and Women’s 470 World Champion.