Olympic gold medallist Tom Burton is within striking distance of claiming a local victory at the 2026 Skelcon Australian 16ft and 13ft Skiff Championships in Lake Macquarie.
The Belmont 16s Sailing Club representative, along with crew mates Scott Beeby and Joel Skelton, has his craft Shade To Order sitting in second spot with one race remaining.
With the final heat scheduled for 1.30pm on Sunday 11 January, the hometown heroes lay just two points adrift of 16-footer leaders Bosker Build (St George Sailing Club).
Burton, who won the men’s laser class at Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Beeby and Skelton have amassed a score of 17.0, trailing Sydneysiders Sarah Lee, Keagan York and Kurtis Warner with 15.0.
The trio put itself in the frame, on Friday, after crossing the finish line first in both races.
They then had to battle hot, tricky westerly conditions – with the temperature reaching 40 degrees – 24 hours later.
So, it all shapes up for a thrilling finale on the picturesque Belmont Bay, which has enhanced its reputation as one of Australia’s premier sailing venues.
IMEI/Barnabas Building (Manly) holds down third spot with 33.0.
Belmont’s Insight Building Services/NAVS (Rod Carter, Simon Hoffman, Andrew Stone) and Law Connect (Chris Nicholson, Lucas Chapman, Flynn Twomey) occupy ninth and 10th respectively.
In the other division, Manly’s Harken 13ft Skiff Team – Heidi Bates and Christian Spencer – narrowly leads from club colleagues Buck&Simple (Lachlan Jansen and Max Barrett).
Local duo Hamish Skelton and Sophie Drummond, manning Skelcon, have maintained third position.
Situated outside the top 10, in 11th, is Belmont’s Telford Electrical Solutions (Connor Radford and Luca Dawson).
Spectators are welcome to attend the racing precinct at the weekend to witness the world-class sailing action.
A presentation function at the Belmont 16s will wrap up proceedings.
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