Olympic hopefuls Jesse and Zander Kirkland endured mixed fortunes during yesterday’s opening races in the 49er class at the World Championships in Perth, Australia.The sailing siblings, who are bidding to qualify for next year’s Game in London, made a promising start when they placed 14th and 15th in their opening two races.However, all their hard work was undone in the final race of the day which they failed to finish, leaving them in 41st position in the 65-boat fleet.Going into the event, the brothers were optimistic they could qualify for Olympics.“We have put in the preparation and now we need to remain poised in the tense atmosphere of the World Championships and sail to our potential,” said Zander. “With consistent starting, smart lane management, steady boat handling and solid pace, we are looking to get steady finishes in the low teens (12-15) to put us in the hunt for qualifying for Gold Fleet (top 25).“Another thing we will have to remember is that there is only one drop for the event, which will put a premium on consistency in this long series.”Skipper Jonas Warrer and crew Soeren Hansen, of Denmark, comfortably finished first in race one before a fourth and fifth in the final two races left them leading the standings at the end of day one.Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, of New Zealand, sit in second position on ten points while Tobias Schadewaldt and Hannes Baumann, of Germany, complete the top three with 12 points.World number one Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen finally showed some of their best form to win the last Blue fleet race of the day.The Australians are tenth overall.