"It's extreme"

Vadlau/Mähr in ninth place at the 470 World Championships

Lara Vadlau/Lukas Mähr improved to ninth place at the Sailing World Championships in the Olympic 470 class off Palma de Mallorca (ESP) on Thursday.

Austria's duo finished 16th and eighth in the first two races of the gold fleet, moving up one place. The 16th place is Vadlau/Mähr's worst result to date and currently counts as a strike result.

"The first day in the gold fleet, everyone is literally sailing with a knife between their teeth. It's extreme, you can't leave a millimeter of space or you'll be passed. So far we haven't been able to play to our strengths - we want to change that over the next few days," explained Vadlau. Four races are still to be sailed in the final series before the World Championship is decided on Sunday with the medal race for the top ten boats.