Top sailor Jesse Kirkland escaped serious injury at the Rolex Miami Olympic Class Regatta yesterday.The 2012 Olympic hopeful took a nasty blow to the head during yesterday’s final race in Biscayne Bay but walked away with hardly a scratch.The past All-American sailor was struck in the neck by the spinnaker pole of the 49er helmed by Austrian pair Thomas Zajac and Thomas Czajka as he and crew Zander Kirkland rounded the first leeward mark.“Jesse got taken out by the Austrian’s bow spread and he is lucky he wasn’t injured,” said Zander Kirkland. “The spinnaker pole went right into Jessie’s head and neck and he got knocked off the trapeze and into the boat and we spun out.“We had a lot of drama and this is the first time we’ve ever had contact with another boat’s spinnaker pole.“But Jesse is fine and there’s no visible injury. He should be fine after taking a few advils.”The Kirklands were in fifth place at the time of the mishap and despite losing considerable ground were able to finish the race a respectable tenth.“We were scrambling for a second to try and save the boat and ended up tenth which wasn’t bad considering the collision,” Zander said.The local duo’s best showing yesterday arrived in the first of three races, which saw them place sixth in the 23-boat fleet.Had it not been for a fundamental error, the Kirklands might’ve posted their first bullet of the Olympic Class Regatta.“We were winning the first race before we made a basic mistake at the windward mark,” Zander said. “The Vang was eased too quickly as we approached the mark which cost us the race. We were too eager to win the race and hit a light spot with a little less wind and drifted into the mark, which was so frustrating.”After 12 races the Kirklands are placed 13th overall and still in with a realistic chance of progressing to the medal race.But in order to make the cut they must be among the top ten teams in the standings following today’s scheduled three races.As it stands, 17 points separate the Kirkland brothers from tenth -place currently occupied by the 49er helmed by US Virgin Islands skipper Thomas Barrow III.The Kirklands are optimistic they can reach the medal race but are wary their task is a daunting one with little or no margin for error.“If we can get to tenth we can get to the medal deal race,” Zander said. “But we would have to sail really well because we have to catch up.“If we can get our boat speed locked in, get some good starts, keep our heads and not make any basic mistakes then we should be right in there.”