First international sailors arrive in Perth

5:10 AM Mon 3 Oct 2011 GMT

'Ai Kondo and Wakako Tabata (JPN) in action in the 470 W' onEdition &copy Click Here to view large photo

The first international sailors have arrived in Fremantle to train on local waters ahead of the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships.

Four Japanese sailors competing in 470 events arrived in Perth last week and have been training in a variety of conditions off their base at the Fremantle Sailing Club.

Skipper Ai Kondo and her crew Wakako Tabata will start the Women's 470 event in Perth on a high after winning the gold medal from 22 boats in the London Olympic sailing test event at Weymouth in August.

Also training off Fremantle are the Japanese Men's 470 crew of Ryunosuke Harada (skipper) and Yugo Yoshida. Both crews are practising under the keen eye of Japan's head sailing coach, Kazunori Komatsu, who sailed in four Olympic Games in Solings and 470s.

'Perth 2011 is important for all our crews because it's both a contest for selection for Japan's Olympic team and for the World Championship itself,' Komatsu said.

The two Japanese crews will train off Fremantle until they return to Japan on October 8 to compete in a local regatta and then take part in the Sail Melbourne regatta in November.

Perth 2011 website here

by Perth 2011