TOKYO HOPES PUTS WIND IN SAILS
THE road to Tokyo will go through Geelong for sailors Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan.
The two are hoping for strong results in the 49erFX World Championships on Corio Bay next week to press their claims for Olympic selection.
Ryan, 25, represented Australia at the Rio games four years ago in the 470 class, while Lloyd, 24, qualified but was not sent to the games by the Australian Olympic Committee.
A chance to represent her nation would be a dream come true for Lloyd, who had to undergone brain surgery at the age of 16 after being hit in the head by equipment during a regatta in Queensland.
The pairing of Queenslander Ryan with Sorrento-raised Lloyd has been a wellmade match given their different strengths.
“It’s good having Jaime around. She’s more the organising person on the team and making sure we don’t forget anything,” Lloyd said.
“I’m more the one who pushes myself and the person I sail with and make sure we are getting the hours in and are on track with all that sort of stuff.”
The duo are ranked the 28th 49erFX female pairing in the world and second Australian pair. They came together just 18 months ago and dived into focusing on Japan.
“Tess’s drive has been really good for us coming into the class late and forming a team quite late,” Ryan said.
But only one team will be sent from Australia to Tokyo, so performing in the next week is crucial.
The Royal Geelong Yacht Club is hosting the championships, which also includes 49ers and Nacra 17s.
More than 350 sailors from 35 countries will descend on Corio Bay to battle it out, with races to begin on Monday and continue until medal races on Saturday.
Lloyd said her determination to get to the games put her in good stead on the water.
“I think we’re looking pretty good at the moment, we had some really good results in Japan which is one of the Olympic qualifying events,” she said.
“It would be amazing (to make it to Tokyo) and obviously all the hard work has paid off and to represent our country would be pretty nice.
“We’ve just got to try and get another good result here and I think we could work really well and get ourselves to the Olympics.”