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Rising Kiwi 49er team Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush struck gold at the European Championships in Greece overnight - their proudest sailing achievement to date and the first major success for New Zealand in the class since a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Menzies and Lee Rush secured overall victory in a strong men's skiff fleet with a day - and the medal race - to spare, having taken the lead on the second day of competition in Thessaloniki.
They delivered a calm and consistent performance across the week, notching 11 top-10 finishes from 12 fleet races, before also placing fourth in the double-points medal race to win the regatta by a commanding 54 points.
American crew Nevin Snow and Ian MacDiarmid were second, with Uruguay’s Hernán Umpierre and Fernando Diz third.
Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush won the 49er European championships with a day to spare. Photos / Nikos Pantis
New Kiwi pairing Sam Bacon and Blake McGlashan narrowly missed out on the medal race with a 13th-place overall finish - their best result since teaming up last year.
Another emerging duo, Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn, placed second in the silver fleet (27th overall), while Francesco Kayrouz and Hamish McLaren finished 49th.
"It's been incredibly hot and light all week," said Lee Rush. "Lots of waiting, really long days - often getting off the water around 7 or 8pm. It's been pretty taxing in that sense, but we kept things simple and tried to keep doing what we were from the start of the week."
Lee Rush credited their strong position early in the regatta with giving them belief.
"We had a really good second day that put us in the lead, but there was still all of finals racing and the medal race to go, and the points were tight. At that stage, we weren’t even sure we'd make the medal race, let alone the podium or a win. But we followed that up with another solid day, and it started to feel possible."
One key improvement, he said, was their starting.
"Our starts have really come along - we've been working hard on it. We've only been competing overseas for the last two years, and it takes time to get comfortable with it [starting] at this level."
Lee Rush credits the squad-based approach for the young crew's recent success. Photos / Nikos Pantis
Menzies and Lee Rush teamed up in 2021 and found success quickly, finishing third in the 29er at the 2022 youth sailing world championships, followed by gold in the 49erFX at the junior world championships. But the move to the full 49er hasn't been without its challenges.
Gaining the necessary weight to stay competitive in stronger breeze has been the biggest hurdle, Lee Rush admits.
"It's been our top priority for a few years now. We’re getting there, but it's a long-term thing. It takes time to adjust to the 49er - the racing, the starting, just doing regattas and building experience."
They've been steadily climbing the ranks over the past year. They finished fourth at last year's junior world championships, just days before Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie took 49er silver at the Paris Games.
In the Olympic medallists' absence, Menzies and Lee Rush won the 2025 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland in February, placed ninth at the Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma in April, and came 13th at French Olympic Week in Hyères a fortnight later.
Their progress owes a lot to the depth and quality of the New Zealand 49er squad, which includes Bacon and McGlashan, Coutts and Gunn, and Kayrouz and McLaren.
"We had a really solid training block back home in the New Zealand summer. There are consistently five high-level boats pushing each other, all working towards the same goal. Not many countries have that kind of depth, and being part of a squad like this makes a huge difference," he said.
"We're all close. We train together, travel together, and stay together overseas. That bond helps, especially when we're pushing each other at such a high level, and it's a big part of why we've got to this point."
Winning the European championships is unquestionably a career highlight.
“Seb's had a lot of success in the 420, but for me, this is definitely number one, and I think he'd put it pretty high up there, too. It's a senior class. It's not a world championship, but it's still a massive win, and we didn't expect to be winning an event like this so soon in our 49er campaign."
The pair have their sights set on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, but know there's a long road ahead.
"It's a great result; to be able to show that we can perform against other top-level boats and that we can put together a regatta across a full week and keep ourselves consistent and calm under pressure. But it's still just one regatta, and we have a lot to prove," Lee Rush said.
"More importantly, it's special for the whole squad. We're all working towards the same goal - trying to get one of us to go to the Olympics and perform in 2028. This is definitely a win for the squad as much as it is for us."
Click here for the final results and standings.
