Australia, Cook Islands and New Caledonia sail away with gold
Mark Spearman (AUS) picked up gold in laser men’s individual with 10 points, the lowest score you can get, while he and Tomas Vincent (AUS) won the title in laser men’s team with 34 points.
Maxime Mazard (NCL) won silver in men’s laser individual, while Vincent won bronze.
New Caledonia was a distant second in men’s laser team followed by the Cook Islands.
Spearman said it was an honour to win the gold medal in the first Pacific Games that Australia had been invited to.
“We’re up against the best nations of the Pacific and I know the results might have looked like I won most of the races,” Spearman said, “but there was definitely some really hard battles and there was really tight racing with New Caledonia.”
Helema Williams (COK) won the women’s laser individual by 11 points over team-mate Teau McKenzie, but together the Cook Islanders beat surprise silver medallists, Papua New Guinea, in the women’s laser team event by 75 points.
Austarlia’s Carrisa Bridge was third in the women’s individual, while New Caledonia took bronze in the team event.
Williams said everything had gone according to plan.
“Well, I came here to win the gold and not just to win gold,” she said. “I wanted to dominate in every race and that’s what I’ve done at these Games, so I’m pretty happy.”
The last two gold medals were picked up by New Caledonia in men’s hobie cat individual.
Men’s individual gold medallists, Jerome Le Gal and Leo Belouard, won every race but one, where they finished second, and together with compatriots Thomas Dupont and Jeremy Picot, they won the gold in team hobie cat.
Dupont and Picot were second in the hobie cat individual, while Fiji’s husband and wife pair, Shayne and Taleilisi Brodie, won bronze.
In the team hobie cat competition, Fiji took silver and Tahiti bronze.
By James Cowling, Games News Service
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