| In 1997 the wonderful city of Sydney was alive with Olympic fever as the preparations for the Games went into overdrive. But first there was the little matter of the Contender World Championships to hold, when for once the famed harbour breeze failed to blow. The lighter weather looked to favour current champion Ian Renilson, who was well placed to continue his form from Weymouth until his boat was ‘t-boned’ in an unfortunate accident. An incredible all night effort ashore saw his boat back on the water the next day, whilst the Protest Jury was far more sympathetic to him than they had been to Andrea at Hayling. Ian pulled out all the stops and won two races in a day, but it wasn’t enough to claw the initiative back from Bonezzi, who kept a tight grip on the event to win his second title. Ian took his revenge at the Europeans held at Aarhus, to add another title to his growing list of successes. |
 Ian could have won back to back World Titles at Sydney, but suffered major hull damage in an unfortunate accident. The locals got him back afloat in record time, but by then Andrea had a stranglehold on the event and went on to win. |
