PERCY CLINCHES IMPORTANT WIN IN FINNS.

by Ian Grant, on 23 Sep 2000 England's Ian Percy proved the race for the Finn Class Gold Medal at the Sydney Olympics would not be dominated by the defending champion Mateusz Kusznierewicz of Poland when he won race 2 today.

Percy ranked ninth in the World lifted his chances to claim a higher placing when he grafted a clever win in the light winds.

Earlier the Polish Gold Medallist handed the fleet a sailing lesson when he won the first race by a wide margin over Percy but the Englishman hit back to win the second race and claim a deserved title lead with his more consistent 2-1 score compared with his rivals 1-4.

Ali Enver Adakan (Turkey) while being generally outpaced by the two race winners held on gamely in both races to hold third overall with a 5-7 score.

While most of the heavier skippers handled the soft 8-10knot winds with comparative ease the smaller lighter and older Sri Lankan skipper Lalin Jirasinha hung by his toes from the hiking straps for longer periods but still managed to finish both races at the tail end of the fleet.

RESULTS PROGRESSIVE POINTS (Provisional): GBR 3PTS 1, POL 5PTS 2, TUR 12PTS 3, BEL 16PTS 4, GRE 16PTS 5, CRO 16PTS 6, BRA 18PTS 7, USA 21PTS 8, ITA 22PTS 9, FRA 10PTS.