Sydney 2000 champion powers to top of 2.4mR leaderboard at Para World Sailing Championships

Sydney 2000 Paralympic champion Heiko Kroeger leads the 2.4mR class ©Getty Images

Sydney 2000 Paralympic champion Heiko Kroeger of Germany surged to the top of the 2.4mR class leaderboard with a composed performance on the second day of the Para World Sailing Championships in Melbourne.

Kroeger, silver medallist at London 2012, has a narrow advantage at the summit of the standings as he claimed second place in the day’s opening contest.

He was then able to squeeze over the line in fourth spot in the final race, thanks largely to a superbly-executed tactical manoeuvre which outwitted the rest of the field and enabled him to move into the overall lead.

The 49-year-old veteran currently sits on 10 points, three ahead of nearest challenger Damien Seguin of France, who was also in good form as he finished fifth before he took victory in the second race.

Home favourite Matt Bugg isn’t far behind after he recorded third and first from the two races and the event is shaping up to provide a thrilling finale with several boats still in contention for medals and vital Rio 2016 qualification places.

London 2012 SKUD18 champions Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch cemented their status as the boat to beat as they maintained their advantage with one race victory and a second-place finish.

Australia's Paralympic SKUD18 champions Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch look well placed to earn gold ©Terri Dodds/ISAF

The Australians now have a comfortable 13-point lead in front of Great Britain's Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell, while Italy's Marco Gualandris and Marta Zanetti may still harbour feint hopes of being crowned world champions as they lie in third place.

The British duo ousted the Australian pair in the first race but they were unable to build on that momentum as they came home a disappointing 13th in race two, leaving them with a mountain to climb if they are to usurp Fitzgibbon and Tesch.

Australian trio Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden look well positioned in the sonar class despite suffering a brief setback in the second race, with today’s results leaving them on a total of six, 10 ahead of Norwegians Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Marie Solberg and Per Kristiansen.

Britain's John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas are third on 19 points.

Action at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria continues tomorrow.