#laser – Ireland's James Espey lies 32nd in a fleet of 126 after two races of the Laser Standard World Championships in Oman.
British sailor Nick Thompson has never won a major Laser event but today he revelled in the superb breeze at Mussanah, Oman to get his 2013 Laser Standard World Championships off to a promising start after the opening two races.
Thompson, who missed last year's world championships when he fell ill with appendicitis, followed up his second in the first race of the day with victory in the second to head the leaderboard overnight with three points, ahead of Sweden's Jesper Stalhein (5) and Pavlos Kontides of Cyprus (8).
The conditions, comprising brilliant sunshine with winds that topped out at around 16 knots and seas that started flat but grew choppy two hours into racing, were described by officials on the race boat as perfect and ideal for sailing.
This was a description that eight times Laser World Champion Robert Scheidt agreed with after posting a fourth and fifth to sit in seventh place overnight.
The qualifying races continue on Monday with two scheduled for each day until Wednesday. The finals series starts on Thursday with the last two showdowns set for Saturday.
Top ten after two races:
1. Nick Thompson, GBR, 3.0 points
2. Jesper Stalhein, SWE, 5.0
3. Pavlos Kontides, CYP, 7.0
4. Tom Burton, AUS, 9.0
5. Tonci Stipanovic, CRO, 9.0
6. Jean-baptiste Bernaz, FRA, 9.0
7. Robert Scheidt, BRA, 9.0
8. Bruno Fontes, BRA, 11.0
9. Francesco Marrai, ITA, 12.0
10. Andrew Maloney, NZL, 14.0
Full results here