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Belcher and Page claim 470 World number one ranking
The Australian Sailing Team's 470 men's crew of Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page have capped off a stellar 2010 in the best way possible, claiming the World number one ranking.
In a great year on the water the pair won the 2010 470 World Championship and the men’s 470 class of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, a great achievement in just their second year of sailing together.
Belcher and Page led the 470 World Championships in Holland from start to finish, winning the event with a day to spare, a great achievement in an incredibly competitive fleet.
In a hectic year for Belcher, Page and coach Victor Kovalenko the team competed in all seven rounds of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, claiming victories in Melbourne and Kiel, Germany, and second place finishes in Miami, USA, Medemblik, Holland, and Weymouth, England.
“Mal and I are very pleased with our performances this year particularly in winning the World Championship,” said Belcher. “We’ve been steadily progressing individually and as a team and it’s always nice when things start to come together.”
“Being ranked the number one crew in the world is a nice reward for our consistency over the last two years and out of the 16 events that we’ve competed in together we’ve always managed to finish in the top six,” he said.
“We feel that we’re on the right track as we head towards the 2012 London Olympic Games but there’s still plenty to be done and for now we’re looking forward to spending some time with our families and having a bit of a rest before returning to training in late October,” said Belcher.
Belcher and Page will next be in action at the Perth International Regatta in November before setting their sights on defending their ISAF Sailing World Cup crown.
“It’s very easy to make high objectives for the year,” said Page. “We set the goal of winning the World Championship and the World Cup, which is easily said, and hard to achieve.”
“So to end up winning both of these in a controlled and dominant fashion is the most rewarding thing and as a relatively new team we both feel as though we have much more to develop and work on towards the 2012 London Olympic Games,” he said.
“To be ranked number one again is a very rewarding acknowledgement,” said Page. “We both have done this previously with old partners but to do this as a team is a great reward for the hard work, and a confidence boost towards the next two years.”
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