New Zealand sailor Andy Maloney has hung on to win the Finn Gold Cup and now waits to see if it will clinch him selection for the Tokyo Olympics.
A solid final day in Porto, Portugal on Thursday (NZT) kept Maloney at the top of the points table.
His friend and rival Josh Junior, the defending champion at these world championships, finished third.
The two have had an intense battle over the past four years as they mixed their Olympic quest with a successful defence of the America’s Cup. New Zealand can have only one Finn class sailor at the Olympics, and it will be a tough selection though current form will weigh heavily after such a disruptive couple of years.
Junior’s 2019 Finn Gold Cup win was a breakthrough success for New Zealand at this event. Maloney has backed that up. There was no championship sailed in 2020 because of Covid.
Maloney finished the regatta seven points clear of second-placed Spaniard Joan Cardona with Junior a further three points back.
“It feels awesome for the Finn Gold Cup to be staying in New Zealand after Josh won it last time,” Maloney said. “It’s also my first Olympic class world championship, so that’s pretty special as well. And to have both Josh and I on the podium here is also really cool.”
