As the mercury hit 42 degrees Celsius in Melbourne Australia, the on-the-water action heated up as well at the 2019 Finn Gold Cup. The world championship of the Olympic heavyweight dinghy, seven different countries and three continents were represented in the top eight—and all of those sailors chose North Sails.
Josh Junior put in a strong, consistent performance to take the top spot, the first Finn Gold Cup win ever for a Kiwi. Starting in the class six years ago and working with Andy Maloney and coach Andrew Murdoch, he won two races, had only three finishes out of the top five, and led the event from day two.
With the 2020 Olympics only months away, many sailors were also competing for the chance to represent their country in Enoshima, Japan—another place where heat and humidity are likely to make the Finn’s physicality and free pumping a real challenge. The 2019 Gold Cup was a key regatta on the Royal Brighton Yacht Club schedule, and as host of the 1956 Olympic Games they put on an excellent championship.
Congratulations to all. We’ll be following along in 2020!
Results after medal race (medal race results in brackets)
1 NZL Josh Junior 44 (7) 2 NED Nicholas Heiner 52 (3)
3 HUN Zsombor Berecz 53 (2)
4 GBR Giles Scott 67 (8)
5 AUS Jake Lilley 72 (1)
6 NZL Andy Maloney 79 (9)
7 CRO Nenad Bugarin 92 (5)
8 CAN Tom Ramshaw 95 (10)
9 ESP2 Joan Cardona Éndez 98 (6)
10 TUR Alican Kaynar 100 (4)
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