Campbell Patton is within striking distance of securing a podium finish at the 2023 Sail Sydney in Australia.

The Bermudian sailor sits in second, four points adrift of Australian leader Sam King, heading into today’s medal race in the ILCA 7 class in Sydney Harbour.

“If I beat him [King] and put one boat between us I can take home the gold, which would be really exciting,” Patton told The Royal Gazette.

“This is an international competition and is also the Asian/Pacific region qualifier for the Olympics, so I can’t get Bermuda an Olympic spot here, but there are other sailors from Fiji and Samoa fighting for Olympic spots and I am well ahead of those guys.

“I am pretty pleased with myself so far and hoping that I can get the job done tomorrow.”

The 22-year-old has made a remarkable turnaround to get his campaign on track after getting off to a disappointing start as testing weather conditions took their toll.

Patton achieved six top-three finishes, including three firsts, in the ten-race qualifying series to advance to the business end of the regatta.

“I started off the regatta really poorly in light and very shifty winds on Sydney Harbour,” Patton added.

The promising sailor has thrived out on the racecourse over the past two days in more favourable heavier breezes.

“I came into my own in much more wind and was able to use my speed to my advantage,” Campbell said. “I am really enjoying the breeze at the moment.”

Meanwhile, Patton’s compatriots PJ Rodrigues and Christian Ebbin saw no action at the Youth Sailing World Championships in Brazil yesterday after racing was postponed due to high winds.

“We felt good in the lead-up to the racing today with the big breeze and waves, so a little disappointed to have them cancel us,” Ebbin said.

“But with a good forecast for tomorrow with winds slightly lighter, we can’t wait to get back out there and see what we can do to finish off this event with some good races.”

The local pair are in seventeenth among the 30-strong male/mixed skiff class and are 45 points shy of the medal places with four races remaining.

French duo Karl Devaux and Hugo Revil, winners of Youth World Championships gold in 2021 and this year’s EuroCup series champions, top of the standings by 14 points over nearest rivals Alex Demurtas and Giovanni Santi of Italy.