Olympics: Unheralded yachties sail into contention

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

A new Olympic medal prospect for New Zealand has emerged in Italy, where Simon Cooke and Peter Nicholas have won the European 470 dinghy championships.

The unheralded pair swept through the fleet of Olympic crews yesterday to become surprise medal contenders in Sydney.

Nicholas has given up his job as an engineer in Edinburgh, Scotland, to sail with Cooke, a fulltime yachtie who was knocked out of the last Olympics by his older brother, Rohan.

Over the past few months, the Kiwi crew have discovered they have exceptional speed in light airs. They beat former world champions Philippe Gildas and Tanguy Cario, of France, by nine points on the final day.

New Zealand coach John Clinton said it was an important result, with only one Olympic crew missing from the regatta.

Kiwi women Olympians Melinda Henshaw and Jenny Egnot finished fifth after Henshaw pulled a back muscle when they were in second place in the final race.

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