Kiwi windsurfers Jon-Paul Tobin and Natalia Kosinska got their campaigns underway over night at official London Olympics Test Event The Weymouth and Portland International Regatta as the vital test events are now well underway, giving us an insight into how the games will be run and how our athletes will perform next year at the London Olympic Games. In the first day of competition Tobin finished in 6th place in both of the mens RS:X races putting him in 6th position out of a 34 man fleet overall at this stage in the competition. Hes sure to be wanting to catch up his Dutch training partner Dorian van Rijsselberge who is currently tied in 1st place with Britains Nick Dempsey with them both achieving a win and second place in the first two races. In a 28-strong competition, Kosinska in currently placed in 11th position after finishing in 12th and 10th in her first two races in the womens RS:X category. Kosinska will be chasing Spains Marina Alabau who is currently top of the leader board after dominating the first day of competition. Both Tobin and Kosinska are happy to have got the competition underway and will be back out giving it their all on the water tomorrow as they hope to build on their first two races. Joining them tomorrow will be Kiwi Laser and Radial sailors Andrew Murdoch and Sara Winther alongside our two double-handed 470 crews Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie, and Paul Snow-Hansen and Jason Saunders. With the conditions and format being the same as the London Olympic Games, the test event is a great indicator of what to expect next year. 49er Skiff competitors and London Scholarship Holders Blair Tuke and Peter Burling start racing on Saturday and cant wait for the event to start, stating that it will be great to test themselves against the other top 24 countries in the 49er class. Keep checking back to NZ2012.com to see how our London Scholarship Holders Blair Tuke and Peter Burling and the rest of our competitors fare as the competition progresses. Dave Currie, New Zealand Olympic Team Chef de Mission will attend a number of test events designed to check venue functionality and give high performance teams an invaluable look at how systems and processes will work at the Olympic Games next year. Currie will join New Zealand athletes and support teams at the Junior World Rowing Championships on the Olympic course at Eton Dorney, the ITU World Series Triathlon test event in Hyde Park as well as the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta 2011.
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