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Lukas Walton-Keim says he had to go behind enemy lines to clear a major obstacle in his quest for Olympic selection – but it was mission accomplished as the Auckland kitefoiler finished second at Sail Sydney to secure New Zealand a country spot in the class at next year's Games.
Also booking a spot on the start line - in the ILCA 6 - was Greta Pilkington, who finished sixth overall in the event formerly known as the Laser Radial.
While the kitefoil will make its Olympic debut in Marseille, where the sailing events will be held, Pilkington could become the first Kiwi to compete in the ILCA 6 at the four-yearly showpiece since London 2012.
Walton-Keim finished runner-up to Cypriot Denis Taradin in Sydney, claiming a top-three result in all but four of the 15 races.
"I'm really happy with this week. I did what I needed to do and qualified the country for the 2024 Olympics, so I couldn't be more pleased with that and I'm looking forward to the next step, which is getting selected," Walton-Keim said.
"It's been a really good few weeks for me. I've had some excellent training with some really good training partners, and I'm happy to be able to put that on display this week.
"It was great racing against the Aussies. It felt like I was coming into enemy territory a little bit in their backyard but actually, they were so welcoming and friendly, and we all just had a great time racing."
Walton-Keim, who has impressed since returning from a serious knee injury in June, was full of praise for teammate-turned-coach Justina Kitchen, who is battling injury concerns of her own after a string of strong results in Europe earlier this year.
"It's been great having Justina here to coach me and be my support person, she helped me so much and I'm really grateful," Walton-Keim said.
Greta Pilkington finished sixth in the ILCA 6 fleet at Sail Sydney. Photos / Beau Outteridge/Sail Sydney
Pilkington, 20, impressed in a fleet stacked with experienced sailors, managing three top-three race results.
"The first box for Olympic selection has been ticked – my goal was to achieve that, and I’m stoked that it’s done," she told Live Sail Die.
"I’m really happy that I’ve been able to qualify NZL for the ILCA 6 class, but there’s still more work to do. I’m ready to get into it."
Both sailors will now attempt to gain selection for the Games, starting in a little over six months.
For Walton-Keim that opportunity is only a few weeks away.
"I'm stoked to tick this off the list and now I just have to focus on my selection regatta, which is coming up pretty soon in the new year. I'll be training hard and getting back to the training partners and doing what I need to do to keep improving."
New Zealand qualified six other classes for the Games - the 49er, 49erFX, ILCA 7, Nacra 17, and men's and women's windfoil - at the sailing world championships in The Hague in August.
Final results and standings from Sail Sydney, hosted by Woollahra Sailing Club:
Men's kitefoil fleet (16 boards)
1. Denis Taradin (Cyp) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 (17DNC) 1 1 1 (2) (2) 2 - 13 pts
2. Lukas Walton-Keim (NZ) 2 2 (13) (4) 2 2 2 3 1 2 2 2 (17DNC) 3 4 - 27 pts
3. Hector Paturau (Aus) 3 4 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 (5) (6) (17TLE) 6 - 37 pts
6. Lochy Naismith (NZ) 7 6 6 6 8 6 (13) 6 5 7 4 6 (9) (17TLE) 12 - 79 pts
Women's ILCA 6 (14 boats)
1. Elyse Ainsworth (Aus) 3 1 1 2 (11) 1 2 4 1 2 2 - 19 pts
2. Casey Imeneo (Aus) 2 2 (8) 1 2 3 3 2 6 3 4 - 28 pts
3. Zoe Thomson (Aus) 1 (8) 2 5 1 2 1 1 2 1 18 - 34 pts
6. Greta Pilkington (NZ) (11) 10 3 3 7 6 7 3 8 6 8 - 61 pts
Mixed 470 (10 boats)
1.Giacomo Ferrari/Alessandra Dubbini (Ita) 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 (5) 4 6 - 22 pts
2. Nia Jerwood/Conor Nicholas (Aus) 2 1 1 (3) 2 3 1 1 1 1 12 - 25 pts
3. Ashlee Daunt/Brayden Daunt (Aus) 5 (11UFD) 6 2 7 2 4 3 3 5 8 - 45 pts
5. Brittany Wornall/Blake McGlashan (NZ) (11UFD) 3 5 9 6 7 6 6 2 8 2 - 54 pts
7. Derek Scott/Rebecca Hume (NZ) 6 (11UFD) 3 4 5 4 3 4 9 2 18 - 58 pts
Full results here.
