A dream came true for two young Aucland sailors on the waters off the Marseille coast on August 2 when Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie won an Olympic medal for New Zealand.
The pair crossed the finish line in the men’s skiff (49er) medal race in third place to claim silver behind Spain’s Diego Botin and Florian Trittel.
The “McKiwis”, as they have been dubbed, started the double points race in the bronze medal position with any one of seven teams in the hunt for gold. They had two attempts at the medal race abandoned due to light breeze – once while they were in the gold-medal position.
Their success means New Zealand has now won a medal in the men’s skiff event for the last four Olympics, with Peter Burling and Blair Tuke winning silver in London in 2012, gold in Rio de Janeiro four years later, and silver again in Tokyo.
“They’ve been the benchmark for 49er sailing for the past decade, and to be able to build on their legacy is an honour. To have them in our corner is incredibly special. They’ve been a big part of our process,” McHardie said.
