Strong finish for Australian girls at Laser Radial Worlds

4:30 AM Mon 3 Aug 2009 GMT

'Women’s Laser Radial World Championship 2009, Japan.' Junichi Hirai/ Bulkhead magazine

The 2009 Laser Radial World Championship has finished with Gabrielle King the top placed Australian in 15th and Ashley Stoddart winning the silver fleet.

King sailed consistently throughout the final series and her ninth and seventh placings on Sunday saw her climb the ladder to finish an impressive 15th in a high quality fleet.

Meanwhile Stoddart finished the regatta with another two race victories to lead home the silver fleet, a great result after a hectic few weeks which also saw her compete at the ISAF Youth World Championships in Brazil.

'Well today was the last day of what seemed like an enormous regatta, a very long six days, five of which were spent the whole time hiking,' said Stoddart. 'However it was well worth the effort and pain.'

'In the Silver fleet I was able to experience racing very different to what I experienced in the qualifying series. I was able to lead the fleet, using and developing a different set of fleet management skills.'

'It was a lot of fun and I now have two days of rest before starting the Radial Youth Worlds. I feel this regatta has been a great tool for preparing for the next task,' she said.

Alexandra South finished 37th in the gold fleet, quite often being in the top ten at the first mark rounding and gaining invaluable experience along the way, South will also be contesting the Radial Youth World Championships which begin in Karatsu later in the week.

Sarah Patterson sailed consistently in the silver fleet to finish in 22nd, taking a lot away from the racing in Japan.