Percy and Simpson out of Perth Worlds (From Dorset Echo)

Percy and Simpson out of Perth Worlds

9:04am Wednesday 14th December 2011 in News By Echo Reporter

IAIN Percy and Sherborne's Andrew Simpson have today retired from the Perth Sailing World Championships following Percy’s back injury sustained on Tuesday.

The Star class defending world champions and Olympic gold medallists were leading the overall standings when injury struck during Tuesday’s first race.

“We’re really disappointed to have to pull out,” said the 35-year-old Percy, who has already been selected to compete the London 2012 Games with Simpson.

“We were having a great regatta, were sailing well and were really enjoying the racing. We haven’t done a lot of racing recently so it was great to be racing together with Bart again, and to be racing as well as we were.

“It’s certainly frustrating, but it’s more important for me to concentrate on getting fixed and fit again so that this doesn’t happen when it really matters at the Games next summer.”

RYA Olympic manager Stephen Park reflected on a challenging event so far for Skandia Team GBR, but was confident his charges would hold their own over the remainder of the regatta.

“It’s unfortunate that we’ve had three independent, unrelated challenges to contend with so far at this regatta what with dealing with the causes and fallout of Ben Ainslie’s incident, Ben Rhodes’ injury, which is one of those things that could happen to anyone at any time, and now the issue with Iain’s back.

“It’s disappointing for those guys who’ve been working so hard towards this regatta, and certainly is not how we’d hoped the regatta would unfold, but it’s important to keep these things in perspective. Although World Championship titles are important, our eyes are on the bigger prize of the Olympics in Weymouth in 2012.”

Elsewhere on the water, Poole’s Lucy Macgregor, Annie Lush and Kate Macgregor booked their berth in the women’s match racing quarter-finals, rounding off the repechage stage in style with four wins out of four for the day, and 13 wins to two losses for the overall stage.

They will now race-off in the quarter-final tomorrow with the Nether-lands’ Mandy Mulder, while Paul Goodison and Nick Thompson had an impressive day in the Laser event.

Olympic champion Goodison is in second overall with four and one for his day’s two races, while Nick Thompson is in equal third on points. having posted eight and two.

Penny Clark and Katrina Hughes are poised in fourth overall in the 470 women’s event with a third and a ninth from their two races while Weymouth’s Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark rise to sixth overall with a ninth and a sixth for the day.

* For the latest news and information from the Skandia Team GBR British Sailing Team at the Perth Worlds visit skandiateamgbr.com or follow on Twitter @SkandiaTeamGBR.