Yachting: Murdoch keeps ahead of the chasing pack

Laser sailor, Andrew Murdoch. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Andrew Murdoch has the duel task of trying to beat not only the world's best at the sailing world championships but also four other Kiwis trying to nick off with his Olympic ticket.

The 29-year-old Aucklander is favourite to earn New Zealand's berth in the Laser at next year's Olympics but faces stiff competition from Sam Meech, Mike Bullot, Josh Junior and Andrew Maloney. All five are in New Zealand's elite Olympic squad and a good illustration of how well they are all sailing is the fact four finishing in the top 16 at last year's Laser world championships.

In reality, however, Murdoch would have to do a fair bit wrong in Perth this week and again at next year's Laser world championships to miss out on the Olympics.

He finished second at the Sail for Gold regatta in Weymouth, the venue for next year's Olympics, and fourth at the pre-Olympics regatta at the same venue after going into the medal race in second. He was also third at last year's Laser world championships and might have nabbed a medal in Beijing in 2008 if he had had a bit more luck (he finished fifth).

Murdoch is taking nothing for granted, and was 19th overall after a good start to his campaign yesterday (Monday), but has already mapped out next year.

"I'm really trying to take the approach through this period of doing things that are going to give me the best chance of doing well at the Olympics," he said from Perth. "I already have next year planned out. You are not trying to get too far ahead of yourself but you need to plan ahead to use your time well next year and the Olympics will come around all-too soon."

The current world championships have produced mixed results for New Zealand's sailors so far but that might change this week with racing in the Laser, men's RS:X (Tom Ashley and JP Tobin), women's 470 (Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie) and 49er (Peter Burling and Blair Tuke) fleets.

The priority at the world championships is to qualify the boat for London - and all four did that last week - but the New Zealand selectors want to see their sailors near the front of the fleet and the likes of Dan Slater (Finn) will be nervous of his chances.

There's healthy competition among the Laser sailors and they push each other in training in New Zealand but Murdoch won't worry about his position relative to the other Kiwis this week.

"I know I have a lot of guys competing in my fleet and it's always been the same way in the Laser over the last few Olympic cycles," he said. "It's always been a hotly-contested class. I think it's good we are pushing each other.

"For this event, I will only worry about how I go and how I sail because that's what it's going to come down to. The will look on the other guys as just competitors and I think it's important I treat it that way. I will only worry about how I sail and, if I do a good job of that, the rest will take care of itself."

Junior was the best-placed of the Kiwis after the first day of racing but Murdoch (19th), Bullot (21st), Maloney (29th) and Meech (32nd) weren't far behind considering 147 sailors are in the Laser competition.

The decision who will race the RS:X for New Zealand at the Olympics is less clear cut. Ashley is the defending Olympic champion and has consistently shown he can perform well at big events but Tobin has been more impressive in recent times (he won Sail Melbourne, was second at Sail for Gold and fourth at the pre-Olympics regatta). It's unlikely the selectors will make a decision after the world championships to give Ashley every chance to present a compelling case.