Goodison satisfied as Laser Worlds close

Paul Goodison admitted he was “reasonably happy” after putting three months of injury misery behind him to finish seventh at the 2008 World Laser Standard Championships in Australia.

Goodison broke his wrist in a mountain biking accident late last year and after having a screw inserted in his wrist only sat in a boat again on January 7 having been banned from taking part in any post-operation physical activity.

Australian Tom Slingsby was crowned 2008 World Champion at Terrigal, NSW, on Wednesday after the final two races of the regatta planned for the last day were abandoned due to difficult southerly winds.

But although admitting heavy winds, postponements, large swell and a disqualification for a start line infringement in race six had made for a tricky Championships, 30-year-old Goodison, who won his comeback regatta at Sail Melbourne last month, insisted he was now just excited about the prospect of kicking on with his fitness programme in the build up to the Olympics.

A buoyant Goodison said: “Overall I was reasonably pleased with how things went. It was quite a good regatta with long races of about 1 hour 20 minutes as opposed to the normal 60 or so minutes and I was happy I was able to compete over races of that length when I had literally been sat on my backside for two-and-a-half months.

“This regatta was just about doing some racing for me and getting back into the swing of things, I had no great expectations. I was disqualified from a fourth in race six and had I won the protest I would have finished the regatta in the top five when I came here not really expecting great things.

“The Sail Melbourne result was a bit lucky if I’m honest; the races were only 50 minutes long and at the end of each one I was so out of breath and could hardly walk at the end of the day. Now I’m really looking forward to getting back into my fitness training and getting back on my weight loss programme for the Olympics.”

Nick Thompson finished just one spot behind his Skandia Team GBR teammate in eighth, posting an impressive 1,1,3 midway through the series into the bargain, while the RYA Youth Squad boasted two members in Gold Fleet, Evan Scott, who only turned 18 in January, and 17-year-old Oliver Tweddell finishing 51st and 54th overall respectively.

Slingsby, who clinched his first Laser Standard World crown in Cascais, Portugal last July, successfully defended his title with two bullets in what proved to be the final two races of the Championships - races nine and 10 – ensuring him gold with 27 points.

Argentina’s Julio Alsogaray took silver just two points behind Slingsby while Javier Hernandez (ESP) finished 3rd.

Overall Results: (157 boats)

1. Tom Slingsby (AUS) (27 points)
2. Julio Alsogaray (ARG) (29)
3. Javier Hernandez (ESP) (39)

Great Britain overall results:

Gold fleet:
7. Paul Goodison (71)
8. Nick Thompson (76)
48. Robert Godwin (195)
51. Evan Scott (210)
54. Oliver Tweddell (217)
Silver fleet:
56. Eifion Mon (101)
74. James Gray (167)
83. Dan Belben (183)
88. Dyfrig Mon (192)
Bronze Fleet:
115. Max Holloway (173)
119. Sean Evans (197)
128. George Cooper (220)
129. Stuart Godwin (220)
135. Dominic Breen-Turner (239)