Sailing: Fifth-placed finish for Chris Grube in test event for 2012 London Olympics

Aug 18 2011 Chester Chronicle

CHRIS Grube’s fortunes were as up-and- down as the waves off Weymouth during a test event for the London Olympics.

The 26-year-old from Mickle Trafford finished fifth overall at the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta, staged at the sailing venue for the 2012 Games.

Grube, who is hoping to secure Olympic qualification for the first time, had fleet race finishes as high as first but as low as 21st alongside 470 men’s partner Nick Rogers.

When the Weymouth waters had settled, the podium was topped by French duo Pierre Leboucher and Vincent Garos. But despite admitting his regatta had not gone according to plan, Grube vowed to come back bigger and better next year. He said: “I think we made mistakes early on in the week which affected our result as it was always hard to come back from them.

“Early on we had a couple of big scores which affected our result and if they hadn’t happened, then I really feel that we might have had a medal. But it is always easy with hindsight to say what you should have done, and next year it is important we come back a better team and learn from this regatta.”

Grube and Rogers booked their place at last week’s Olympic test event when they won a battle with fellow British crews at the Skandia Sail for Gold regatta in June.

The second part of the pair’s selection trials for London 2012 will be in December at the World Sailing Championships in Perth, Australia.

Investment specialist Skandia is the principal sponsor of the British sailing team. For more information go to www.skandiateamgbr.com