Paralympic Gold Rush For Australia

In 2016 Paralympics the Aussies have been able to secure two golds out of three in the sailing category.


That is quite an achievement for the Paralympic Sonar team of the country. This comprised of Jonathan Harris, Russell Boaden and Colin Harrison. While the medal race is scheduled for Saturday, with the two medals already acquired, the team is in the mood to celebrate.

The Aussies were elated on day five of the competitions at the Marina da Gloria as they won two gold medals in the two people and three person keelboat categories a day ahead of the finish. Daniel and Liesl of SKUD18 were on fire as they won two races to get their first title in Paralympics ever. The Sonar team was able to get a lead of 24 points which guaranteed them a gold medal. This ensured that there would be an Advance Australia Fair at the Flamengo Beach before the Medal Ceremony. The Australian anthem played out three times as Matt Bugg gained a lead of four points in the One Person Keelboat category, but got demoted to the third position as Helena Lucas emerged on top.

In the two person keelboat category Daniel and Liesl made it to the top of the fleet. They have had eight wins from ten races and gained two second place positions. That gave them ten points in total. Tesch stated that the inspiration to be able to do it came from John Bertrand, who is known to be a sailing legend. He had told the team to work as loose as a goose. With different conditions being thrown at them at the Bay, their key to success was being adapted so they could handle the whole race well. The hard yards had to be put in before the game and that paid off for the final race.