Harborough’s Olympic Sailor In Pole Position

Market Harborough sailor Dylan Fletcher and partner Stuart Bithell have put Team GB into first place of the 49er Class at the Tokyo Olympics.

A win in the last of today’s three races helped them to the top of the 49er fleet, ahead of 18 other nations.

The former Robert Smyth Academy student, who started sailing at Pitsford Reservoir, and his teammate are still only four races into a 12-race series, but are off to a great start.

Dylan said: “It started alright. We got out of the blocks, not quite as well as we wanted, but we battled for every point and I think still came away with a counter in the first and just built throughout the day with a bullet in the last.

“I think with the difficult build up and the uncertainty we’ve had over the last 18 months to be in this position, although it’s really early, it provides a good layer of confidence.

“But ultimately, we’ve still got eight races and the medal race to go so we’re just taking every race as it comes, trying to keep that solid base, solid comms and hopefully we’ll be where we want to be at the end.”

Dylan and Stuart will compete in further races between now and Saturday, in the hope of securing a place in Monday’s Medal Race.