Stodel is still on course

9:41am Thursday 15th May 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

Paralympic sailor Hannah Stodel remained in pole position to claim a gold medal at the IFDS Qingdao International Regatta in China, retaining first place as the crews headed into the final medal race in the Sonar Class.

The sailor from West Mersea, together with skipper John Robertson and Stephen Thomas, maintained their spot at the head of the leaderboard with two third places on day four of the regatta at the venue that will host the sailing events at the Olympic Games and Paralympics later this year.

Stodel, Robertson and Thomas witheld the challenge of the French boat, skippered by Bruno Jourdren, who moved up the rankings into second place overall with two wins from races seven and eight.

However, it wasn't enough to see them leap above the British trio, who have been selected to represent their country at the Paralympics in September.

The regatta is set to continue today, with a final medal race and closing ceremony.

The British trio are looking to build on their success at the Semaine Olympique Francaise regatta in Hyéres in France last month when they swept the competition aside to claim gold in the Sonar Class with a day's sailing to go.