LAKE Macquarie sailors won two silver medals at the Rio Olympics – the only medals achieved by the Hunter’s record 21-strong contingent at the Games.
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Coal Point sailor Will Ryan opened the local medal tally when he and partner Mat Belcher claimed silver in the 470 class on Day 13.
That result helped to inspire the defending 49er Olympic champions Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen, of Wangi Wangi, to a strong finish and a return to the podium.
The silver double accounted for half of Australia’s four sailing medals won at the Games.
The result bolsters Lake Macquarie’s reputation as a prolific sailing nursery.
Both crews started their respective finals overnight in third position on the leaderboards, but improved one spot each.
Ryan was assured of a top three finish going into the final with an unassailable lead over fourth, but he revealed a fall almost proved costly.
“I just slipped and fell straight in,” Ryan said. “Fortunately Mat pulled me back out of the water one-handed pretty quickly and got me back into the boat and back into the race.”
Outteridge and Jensen started the medal race too far adrift on the leaderboard to catch the Kiwi crew.
With double points available, they could have finished anywhere from second to fourth.
They finished fourth in the final race, four places ahead of the Germans who slipped from second on the leaderboard to finish with bronze.
“If we weren’t at the top of our game they would have passed us,” Outteridge said. “It was stressful but we held our nerve.”
The Hunter’s final medal hopes in Rio – Gloucester’s Damian Martin (basketball) and Adamstown’s Scott Westcott (marathon) – missed out on medals.