Find out what’s on the agenda at the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition today and find out further information on how to follow the racing, watch the tracking, download imagery and follow World Sailing on social media.
The sun is shining and the weather is going to be a little warmer than recent days with a temperature of about 24 degrees Celsius expected. More importantly, a light to moderate south-south-easterly of about 9 to 10 knots is expected to kick in around midday, not dissimilar to yesterday.
With gold and silver already taken in the Men’s RS:X, the focus of their Medal Race will be on who will win bronze. It’s much more wide open in the Women’s RS:X, with seven of the ten competitors still in the hunt for gold.
It’s a rest day for the Men’s and Women’s One Person Dinghy fleets before their Medal Races tomorrow, and a rest day for the 49er and 49erFX fleets too, currently at the halfway stage of their qualifying series.
With Dorian van Rijsselberghe (NED) and Nick Dempsey (GBR) already wrapping up gold and silver before today’s Medal Race, all the focus will be on a three-way fight for the bronze medal.
Although reigning World Champion Piotr Myszka (POL) goes into the contest with a 2-point lead over Pierre Le Coq (FRA), the double-points format of the Medal Race means effectively that the Pole and Frenchman go in tied, while Byron Kokkalanis (GRE) still has a chance six points back.
Flavia Tartaglini (ITA) and Stefaniya Elfutina (RUS) are tied for the lead with a five-point advantage over the next three RS:X Women who are all tied on 60 points: Peina Chen (CHN), Charline Picon (FRA) and Maayan Davidovich (ISR).
And on 61 points is the reigning Olympic Champion Marina Alabau (ESP), while seventh-placed Lillian de Geus (NED) also has a mathematical shot at gold on 68 points. The stars would need to align for the Dutch sailor to become champion, but for the other six it’s a very realistic prospect.
Has there ever been a closer Medal Race in Olympic competition? The Women’s Laser Radial contest of London 2012 was an incredible four-way fight, but today’s battle on the Pão de Açucar (Sugarloaf Mountain) course could set a new standard for nail-biting finales.
Heavyweight Men’s One Person Dinghy – Finn
Giles Scott (GBR) has pulled out a 17-point lead after scoring 1,3 in races seven and eight of the qualifying series in the Finn fleet. Vasilij Zbogar (SLO) has consolidated his position in second overall while Jake Lilley’s (AUS) good day on Ponte course has lifted the Australian to third overall. Pieter-Jan Postma (NED) and Ivan Gaspic (CRO) are clawing their way into medal contention and sit on equal points.
With two races scheduled out on the ocean, on the Niterói course, Scott will be keen to stretch his lead to 21 points and wrap up the gold today rather than leave it to the vagaries of the Pão de Açucar (Sugarloaf Mountain) course where the four-time World Champion could only manage 17th place at the start of his otherwise stellar campaign.
The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition
Women’s Two Person Dinghy – 470
Just six points separate the top six in the Women’s 470 standings. Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark (GBR) hold a three-point lead over early series leaders Ai Kondo and Miho Yoshioka (JPN), who are tied on points with the reigning World Champions Camille Lecointre and Hélène de France (FRA).
Anne Haeger and Brian Provancha (USA), Tina Mrak and Veronika Macarol (SLO) and defending Olympic Champions Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (NZL) are all well placed to jump into the top three if they can score two good results on the Copacabana course this afternoon.
Men’s Two Person Dinghy – 470
This was the battle we always expected in the Men’s 470, a duel between the reigning World Champions from Croatia and the reigning Olympic Champions from Australia. Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic (CRO) have barely put a trapeze boot wrong so far in Rio and hold a two-point advantage over Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS). Which of these two will make the best of the wavy conditions expected for their two races on Copacabana?
London 2012 silver medallist Luke Patience (GBR) is showing the determination to win another medal with his crew, Olympic first-timer Chris Grube, the British duo sitting ten points off the lead but only a point in front of Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis (GRE), with France and Sweden not far behind.
The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17
French fans will be keeping their fingers crossed for the pre-event favourites, Billy Besson and Marie Riou (FRA), to continue their remarkable recovery from a slow start to the competition. Besson defied a severe back injury yesterday to put in scores of 2,1,1. This places the French in seventh overall and, at 16 points off the lead, they still have a lot to do today on Escola Naval race course for the final three races of the Mixed Multihull qualifying series.
Holding a three-point lead at the top of the table is the young crew of Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS), ahead of two teams tied for second, Santiago Lange and Cecilia Carranza Saroli (ARG) and Ben Saxton and Nicola Groves (GBR). New Zealand, Austria and Italy are not far away and could move into podium position if they perform well in today’s predicted moderate winds.
It was a light and frustrating day for many in the Olympic sailing competition, but not for the London 2012 gold and silver medallists in the Men’s Windsurfer, with the Dutch and the British wrapping up Rio 2016 gold and silver before the Medal Race on Sunday.
Meanwhile it was the start of competition for the Men’s and Women’s Skiff fleets, with an expected leader in the 49er Men, but a surprise leader in the 49erFX Women.
Men’s Windsurfer – RS:X
Dorian van Rijsselberghe (NED) has won the gold medal in the Men’s Windsurfer and Nick Dempsey (GBR) has won the silver, both without having to contest the Medal Race on Sunday. It’s a carbon copy repeat of London 2012 when the Dutchman took gold ahead of the Briton four years ago. The result is subject to protest, and both sailors will still have to sail the Medal Race, but van Rijsselberghe and Dempsey were already congratulating each other after crossing the finish line of the 12th race of their series. These two athletes have dominated the Olympic competition, with van Rijsselberghe winning seven of the 12 races and Dempsey winning three. Sunday’s battle for bronze will still be close fought between current World Champion Piotr Myszka (POL), Pierre Le Coq (FRA) and Byron Kokkalanis (GRE).
Looking back to the start of the RS:X competition, van Rijsselberghe commented, “I was very fortunate that Nick went off like a cannon in the first couple of races because it really showed me like, ‘okay, it’s not going to be easy.’ We never thought it was going to be easy but he really showed me that if I wanted this, I had to work for it. I tried, worked for it and I got it. It’s great when you’re sailing against guys that are really pushing you and challenging you. If you don’t have that, it would be very boring.”
Even though the Dutchman dominated four years ago to win his first Olympic title, he was still taken aback at his performance this time. “It’s unreal. I did it in London and I never expected it to happen again. Now that it’s happened again, it’s unreal. It’s never easy, if it was easy everybody would be doing it. It was an amazing week and having the guys push me really helped a lot. Coming out with a score like this is pretty special.”
Van Rijsselberghe paid tribute to the people that helped him to his second Olympic title saying, “The majority of it will be from Aaron, my coach. He keeps pushing me and of course my training partner Kiran Badloe and the others that have helped me bust my balls and blaze along.” He also thanked his wife for allowing him to shave his head specially for the Games, just as he had done when he won four years ago in London.
Dempsey almost had a tear in his eye as he sealed his third Olympic windsurfing medal, the first sailor ever to have done so. “I was consistent but not quite consistently good enough today. I just had to really try and stay in touch with Dorian and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I had an eye on the two people behind me. Dorian was too good today. He won it today rather than me losing it and I feel very happy to have won a silver medal.”
The Briton has won three medals from five Games, so he knows what it’s like to miss out and he wasn’t taking his silver for granted. It has been a life of sacrifice dating back to his first Games in Sydney 2000. This evening he was enjoying his first beer in five months. “A year ago, I didn’t know where I’d finish. At the Olympic Test event last year I wasn’t anywhere near the podium so I had a lot of work to do. The last 12 months have gone really well and I’ve worked bloody hard, so it’s nice to come here and have a chance of winning. To have the silver medal is pretty awesome.”
On his strategy, Dempsey was happy to have taken a conservative approach. “I didn’t want to be too aggressive. I wanted to stay pretty safe as it was pretty unstable out there. The last thing I wanted to do was have a day like the Polish guy. He had some horrendous scores, and then all of a sudden you’re out of the medals and fighting to get back. I had to be quite careful. I was pretty close to Dorian but he was slightly ahead of me. Unfortunately, he was ahead all of the time but when somebody is out winning there is not a lot you can do apart from limit the damage. He was too good today. It’s been an amazing week with great racing.”
Dempsey will celebrate his 36th birthday tomorrow with a rest day before Sunday’s Medal Race, and he wants to go out on a high. “Sunday is my last race ever so I want to do well and win.”
The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition
Women’s Windsurfer – RS:X
Star performer of the day was Peina Chen (CHN) who won the last three races of the qualifying series. Just five points separate the top six sailors going into Sunday’s Women’s Windsurfer Medal Race this Sunday. Bearing in mind the final race is worth double points, Stefania Elfutina’s (RUS) one-point lead over Flavia Tartaglini (ITA) effectively puts them tied for first. Breathing down their necks are reigning Olympic Champion Marina Alabau (ESP), Peina Chen (CHN), Charline Picon (FRA) and Maayan Davidovich (ISR). A few points further back but still with an outside shot at the podium is Lillian de Geus (NED).
Alabau is going to have fight hard to keep her Olympic title, but she’s relishing the challenge. “It hasn’t been a bad day for me but I really think that I could have done it a bit better. It has been a difficult day, with difficult conditions, very changing winds in direction and intensity. Some girls have done it quite bad, not me, but I haven’t shone either. Now I have a protest with the Israeli and let’s see how it finishes.” As to the grand finale on Sunday, “It’s going to be the most interesting Medal Race in history. We are seven women to win three medals. Crazy.”
Tartaglini led earlier in the week and was a little envious at the ease with which the gold and silver medals have been won in the Men’s Windsurfer. “I would have liked to do it as Dorian or Nick, but we are going to keep the suspense until the end. Women are so pig-headed, so we have to suffer till the end. It’s a nonsense to work out the points. I have to do my own race, and I hope to win a medal.”
Men’s Skiff – 49er
Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) made the perfect start to their competition winning both opening heats in the Men’s 49er. After a long wait for the wind to settle on the Pão de Açucar (Sugarloaf Mountain) race course, it was Jonas Warrer and Christian Peter Lubeck (DEN) who found themselves duelling with the New Zealanders at the front of the fleet. Warrer, the 2008 Olympic Champion, looked to have got the better of the Kiwis on the final lap and was leading down to the finish when he belatedly realised he had missed out the gate mark. The Danes reluctantly but hurriedly dropped their gennaker to resail the course correctly, leaving the way clear for an easy opening victory for Burling and Tuke. Warrer crossed in eighth, an expensive mistake that could cost him further down the line.
In the next race the Kiwis rounded the first mark in fourth and patiently worked their way to the front ahead of the Irish pair Ryan Seaton and Matthew McGovern. At the end of a day that saw some spectacular racing in moderate breezes and beautiful winter sunshine, New Zealand holds the lead, Portugal is second and Germany is third. “We’re just happy to walk away from day one with two low scores,” said Burling, the four-time World Champion. While the Kiwi boatspeed was good, most of their winning came from picking their way through the gusts and the lulls on the tricky course. “We made our gain in that first race when we gybe-set on that first run. It felt like we found some good breeze and that helped us get out of the pack and up to the front.”
Their opening day wasn’t the way that Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS) would have liked to open the defence of their Olympic title. Scores of 13,8 put the Australians in 11th overall. “We haven’t lost the event, but we haven’t set the world on fire,” Outteridge admitted, acknowledging they just weren’t quite fast enough out of the blocks. “A lot of it is trying to get on the first tack and getting yourself up the ladder ahead of everyone else. Both times we just missed that first opportunity.”
Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition
Women’s Skiff – 49erFX
There is no stand-out favourite for gold in the brand new Women’s Skiff fleet, and after day one of competition things aren’t much clearer. Of all the teams that might have been expected to be topping the leaderboard, few would have picked the Canadians. Yet Erin Rafuse and Dannie Boyd scored a 5,4 to hold a one-point lead over one of the acknowledged favourites, local sailors Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA), who won the second race of the day just as the sun was setting over their home town.
Winners of the first race were Sarah Steyaert and Aude Compan (FRA) who are in third overall on equal points with last year’s World Champions from Italy, Giulia Conti and Francesca Clapcich.
The Canadians were delighted with their first day of Olympic competition. “We don’t like to get caught up in the numbers but this is definitely our best start to a regatta,” said Rafuse. “We picked the right regatta.” Boyd enjoyed the tricky racing in shifty winds. “These conditions are right in our wheelhouse,” she said. “We know we can throw the boat wherever we want to. We had good starts and were able to get on the first shift of the day and it makes the rest of the race a lot easier.”
Women’s Two Person Dinghy – 470
Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark (GBR) won the only race of the day for the 470 Women on the Escola Naval course, moving them to the top of the leaderboard. Two earlier leaders in the series had disappointing days. Ai Kondo Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka (JPN) finished in last place today although when that score is discarded from their results the Japanese are still second overall, three points off the lead. Sharing the same points as the Japanese are the reigning World Champions Camille Lecointre and Hélène de France (FRA).
With the defending Olympic Champions already having used up their discard in the first race of the series after a disqualification, a 12th place finish has proven expensive for Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (NZL) who have dropped from first to sixth in the standings.
On the British race win, Mills commented, “It’s always nice when there’s only going to be one race to go out and smash it. We executed on our plan and we’re very happy. It’s such a hard venue and the fleet is all vying for that top spot. We just need to make sure we have a shot at winning come the Medal Race.”
The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition
Men’s Two Person Dinghy – 470
It was a frustrating wait for the 470 Men who were struggling to get in their races on the Escola Naval course. In the single race that was completed before sunset, Luke Patience and Chris Grube’s victory has lifted the British to third overall. The duel for supremacy continues between the reigning World Champions from Croatia and the reigning Olympic Champions from Australia. Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) moved to within two points of the lead after finishing second in the day’s only race, a place behind Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic (CRO) who lead the fleet. Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis (GRE) sit a point behind the British in fourth overall.
Fantela commented, “Another good day in our pocket, it was tricky inside the bay. Lots of waiting but we are used to it and finally the wind filled in around 3.30pm and we made a good climb from about seventh at the beginning to the front of the pack. We had a good fight with Australia, the British, the Americans. It was fun.”
Women’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial
With just two of the ten-race qualifying series remaining for the Women’s Radial fleet, Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) has pulled out a useful ten-point advantage after a very solid day’s sailing in very tricky conditions, the light airs and big waves making for a seasick-inducing day on the water. Still within striking distance of the lead is Marit Bouwmeester (NED) who holds second place, four points in front of Annalise Murphy (IRL) who fell off the top of the leaderboard after struggling with the difficult conditions on the Copacabana course. “I would like it to have been better today but it wasn’t a complete disaster,” Murphy shrugged. “Huge swell, big shifts, a lot going on, and not getting it quite right. I caught up a lot in the first race but I’m not happy. I’m looking forward to Sugarloaf tomorrow: lots of gusts, shifts, really tricky which is how I like it.”
Men’s One Person Dinghy – Laser
Tonci Stipanović (CRO) gave away a lot of his lead in the Men’s Laser after struggling to get to grips with the unusual conditions out on the big rolling ocean. The Croatian could only manage 28,9 while Robert Scheidt (BRA) went on the attack with a 4,5 that has taken him to just three points of the lead. Tom Burton (AUS) is two points behind Scheidt in third overall.
Stipanović made no secret of his dislike of today’s conditions. “For me these conditions are strange and really hard. Light wind, big swell, I didn’t know what to do. You need a lot of practice in this and I have probably only sailed in this kind of conditions four times in my life. Because of that it didn’t go so well today.”
Scheidt also acknowledged the difficulty of the weird combination of big waves and very little breeze. “Two metre swell out there, very difficult to sail the boat, pressure at the top of the wave, no pressure at the bottom of the wave.”
The 43-year-old is more motivated than ever to become the first sailor to win six Olympic medals. “I think that the key to this week was to never give up. I made some mistakes on day one and two, but I believed I could come back and today was a massive day for my confidence. It’s another crucial day tomorrow.”
Racing resumes on Saturday 13 August at 13:00 local time. The 470 fleets will have a lay day tomorrow, as will the RS:X ahead of their Medal Race on Sunday. All other fleets will be racing.
The previous word of the day was ‘tricky’. The word of the day for those that went out to sea on day four was ‘survival.
The Olympic sailing competition again produced the extremes of flat water and shifty conditions on the inshore courses with the giant wind and size-of-a-house waves out on the seaward courses. This regatta is testing every extreme of a sailor’s ability, which some argue is exactly what the Olympic competition should be.
Women’s Two Person Dinghy – 470
The defending Olympic Champions Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (NZL) sailed an excellent day and met their simple goal for some of the toughest conditions they have ever experienced. “It was just keep the mast pointing upwards,” said Aleh. “It was pure survival out there, keep Polly on the side of the boat because crews were getting washed off the side all the time. The wind was big. The waves were big. It couldn’t have been more of a contrast to all the fluky stuff from yesterday, but this regatta is getting to be fun.”
The Kiwis have replaced the Japanese at the top of the scoreboard, with Ai Kondo Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka just two points behind New Zealand. Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark (GBR) could have dominated the day with two wins, except that in the second race they capsized whilst in the lead and did well to hold on to a sixth place. A missed opportunity that could come back to haunt the British crew later in the competition, but for the moment they sit in third place, just five points off the lead. On equal points with the Britons are the reigning World Champions, Camille Lecointre and Hélène de France (FRA). “We don’t normally like those conditions very much so we’re pleased to have come out of the day better than we expected,” said Lecointre.
The 2014 and 2015 World Champions Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar (AUT) would be hoping to do better than their current eighth overall. “In three years of training we’ve never seen any of the conditions that we saw yesterday or today,” said Vadlau. “The first day was fluky and you needed some luck to do well, and today was about surviving. I tried to enjoy it but when you see people capsizing in front of you, you try to keep calm and keep on doing what you normally do. You can’t get scared, because if you get scared you will capsize too.”
The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition
Men’s Two Person Dinghy – 470
Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic (CRO) had the best day in the survival conditions, the Croatians’ 4,1 scores lifting them to three points clear of their Aussie rivals and reigning Olympic Champions Mat Belcher and Will Ryan. But it’s all very tight, with Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis (GRE) just a couple of points behind in third. Others are ready to pounce on any mistakes, with Sweden and France not far off the podium. The London 2012 silver medallist Luke Patience (GBR) was grinning from ear to ear after coming ashore from the biggest waves he’d ever seen. “They were three or four metres, as big as houses. You could see the front door, two windows, a kitchen and the bedrooms upstairs. When you were in the trough you couldn’t see the boat next to you.”
The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition
Heavyweight Men’s One Person Dinghy – Finn
Giles Scott (GBR) didn’t manage to capitalise on the survival conditions quite like the previous day of big wind and waves, finishing 11th in the first race but making amends by winning the next. He now holds a 12-point lead over second placed Vasilij Zbogar (SLO). “It’s good to put a bit more of a point gap on today but at the moment I’m just very frustrated with how I sailed in that first race,” said Scott, the four-time World Champion, as self-critical as ever. “There was a huge gain on the right-hand side of the course all day today and I was pretty slow to realise that on that first leg and let the fleet get to the right of me. It just put me on the back foot but I managed to come back to 11th which I suppose was damage limitation. But then to come out and win the next race, that is all I could ask for.”
Zsombor Berecz (HUN) is having the regatta of his life, sitting in third just two points behind Zbogar while Caleb Paine (USA) is just two points away from the Hungarian. Local hero Jorge Zarif (BRA) started well with a second but then followed up with a 19th, putting him in tenth overall. “When it’s this windy we don’t go sailing in Brazil,” he said. “Those were brutal conditions. Anyone who thought Rio was going to be a light wind regatta and prepared just for that is going to be struggling after today.”
The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition
Men’s Windsurfer – RS:X
Dorian van Rijsselberghe (NED) turned the tables on Nick Dempsey (GBR) by finding a level of consistency in tricky, variable conditions that no one else could match. The defending Olympic Champion’s scores, 4,1,1, have lifted him eight points clear of the London 2012 silver medallist who still had a good day to hold second overall, now five points in front of the reigning World Champion Piotr Myszka (POL).
These three have broken away from the rest of the pack, with fourth-placed Byron Kokkalanis (GRE) now 16 points off the podium.
The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition
Women’s Windsurfer – RS:X
The reigning Olympic Champion Marina Alabau (ESP) had the best day from the Women’s Windsurfer fleet’s three races, and she moves to within striking distance of the podium. “It’s been a very hard and complicated day, because of the gusty winds,” said Alabau. “I nearly had a heart attack. But I’m super happy, it’s been my best day. For me this was a very important day. If I wanted to fight for the medals this was the day to do it well, otherwise I would have been out of the fight.” Her coach, Nico Beudou, added, “At last today I’ve seen the Marina I know.”
Flavia Tartaglini (ITA) holds the lead by a single point from Charline Picon (FRA) and Stefania Elfutina (RUS) who sit on equal points, although a protest against the Italian by Demita Vega (MEX) could see a change of leader overnight.
The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17
After four brutal three-lap races for the Nacra 17 fleet, two teams sit tied at the top on equal points. The Australian crew’s two race wins put Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS) in first place ahead of Ben Saxton and Nicola Groves (GBR), while in third place and nine points behind the leaders is the Italian crew of Vittorio Bissaro and Silvia Sicouri. “There were moments with very hard winds and others with just 10-12 knots,” said Sicouri. “So it’s been very important to have the skills to perform and always keep the balance on board. I’m happy to have a rest day tomorrow, because after four races with three laps each we are tired. There’s still half the championship ahead and we will fight until the end.”
Overnight leaders Matias Buhler and Nathalie Brugger (SUI) struggled to get to grips with the stronger conditions on the Ponte course and have fallen to seventh overall. The four-time World Champions Billy Besson and Marie Riou (FRA) finished the day where they started, in 15th place. Besson’s back injury couldn’t have flared up at a worse time, and one of the hot favourites for gold have seen their dreams shattered after two gruelling days for the injured sailor.
Racing resumes on Friday 12 August at 13:00 local time. The 49er and 49erFX will start their Olympic campaigns whilst the Finn and Nacra 17 sailors will enjoy a lay day.
It was a game of two halves on day three of the Olympic Sailing Competition, with the inshore courses forcing the sailors to make the best of a light-wind lottery. Out to sea it couldn’t have been more different, with the Niterói and Copacabana courses offering up high winds and mountainous waves. The Sugarloaf course made for a wildly unpredictable but entertaining debut for the new Mixed Multihull event.
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17
Matias Buhler and Nathalie Brugger (SUI) emerged top of the rankings after two whacky opening races for the Nacra 17 on the notoriously tricky Pão de Açucar (Sugarloaf Mountain) race course. The Swiss are on equal points with Ben Saxton and Nicola Groves (GBR), with Santiago Lange and Cecilia Carranza Saroli (ARG) holding third overall.
With the fleet starting in 10 knots of breeze, the Mixed Multihull fleet shot up the track. But, the breeze was all over the place and no lead was ever safe. The Swiss emerged at the front at one point, only to be swallowed up by the pack at the halfway stage. But then Buhler and Brugger found their way through to the front once more, only to see their 200 metre lead disappear in the dying moments of the final leg. The fleet was closing fast and the top six boats all crossed the finish line within five seconds of each other. The Swiss beat Singapore by a whisker.
“A really tricky day,” said Brugger. “Difficult with very shifty and gusty winds, so we had to improvise and keep the eyes open. We had some hard moments back in the fleet but we were always fighting and had a really good team spirit.”
Justin Liu (SIN) didn’t even know how well he’d done until he came ashore. “That photo finish, we’ve no idea how we did, where did we finish?” he asked the press, delighted to discover he and crew Denise Lim had finished second. “The wind was everywhere, super crazy, we were near the back at one point, but we fought our way back.” Even with a 16th in the next race, the Singaporeans lie in eighth overall.
The British were consistent with scores of 3,5. Saxton was smiling but still not that sure about the secret to success other than, “Give it a go, do your best and hopefully by the end of six legs it will be good enough.
The four-time World Champions Billy Besson and Marie Riou (FRA) had a worrying first day and sit in 17th place in the 20-boat fleet. Besson is carrying a severe long-term back injury and is struggling even to walk any distance, so one can only imagine the pain he is suffering to compete on board the athletic Nacra 17.
Through all the crazy unpredictability of the courses closer to shore, such as on the Escola Naval (Navy School) course, somehow the reigning World Champions from Croatia picked their way through the melée. Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic (CRO) have notched up a 1,2 for their opening scores, and are living up to their billing as the main threat to Australia’s defence of the Olympic title from London 2012.
That said, Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) had a very respectable day, bouncing back from some bad starts to record an 8,1 putting the Aussies in second overall. “This is what the Games are meant to be,” said Belcher. “It’s supposed to be challenging, to really test yourself. Today saw that. We were back in a lot of cases, got back up the front and posted two good races.”
Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox (NZL) lie in third overall. Snow-Hansen commented, “Just like all big regattas, we’re getting conditions you don’t normally expect. But we’re happy to roll with it and enjoy the snakes and ladders out there.”
Women’s Two Person Dinghy – 470
Ai Kondo Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka (JPN) put together a very good first day on the very fluky Escola Naval (Navy School) course, the Japanese holding a two point lead over the defending Olympic Champions, Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (NZL). Tina Mrak and Veronika Macarol (SLO) hold third place ahead of the Brazilians.
Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha (USA) were pleased with their opening day, the Americans in fifth overall. “It was a really tricky day,” said Provancha, “Super cool to be racing out there. The goal of day one is to be consistent and not lose the regatta. We did our job today. It was about looking for the dark water and going for your hunches.”
The London 2012 silver medallists Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark (GBR) would have hoped for a better first day, but are still in sixth overall after fighting their way back from bad starts in both races. “Not much of an excuse for our poor first decisions off the start line in both races,” admitted Clark. “From then on we were playing catch up and we did a reasonable job. Today might look like a good day at the end of this week.”
Annalise Murphy (IRL) has always loved the strong breeze and big waves and the Irish sailor took full advantage with some good scores to move into the overall lead. However, Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) had an even better day with scores of 3,1 to move to within a point of Murphy. Just a point behind the Dane is the London 2012 silver medallist, Marit Bouwmeester (NED).
It wasn’t such a good outing for the reigning Olympic Champion Lijia Xu (CHN), whose scores of 8,12 have dropped the Chinese sailor down to fifth overall. An even bigger casualty was Evi van Acker (BEL), whose scores of 16,15 have dropped the 2012 bronze medallist to tenth overall. With just four races before the Medal Race, time is running out for van Acker to get back in contention.
Men’s One Person Dinghy – Laser
Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) is back in charge of the leaderboard after Julio Alsogaray (ARG) tumbled down the order with a 24th followed by a UFD disqualification for crossing the start line too early. The big winner of the day was reigning World Champion Nick Thompson (GBR) who charged up the rankings with a 2,1 and now sits in second overall, two points in front of another star performer of the day, Rutger van Schaardenburg (NED). Robert Scheidt (BRA) is just four points off the podium, the Brazilian within striking distance of winning a record sixth Olympic medal.
Giles Scott (GBR) seized the day, revelling in the high winds and mighty waves on the Niterói course. The four-time and reigning World Champion leapt up from tenth overall to the top of the leaderboard after a second place followed by victory in the next. “It’s important not to panic,” said Scott of his shaky start to the regatta the previous day. “You have to think going into the week that the difficult course would be Sugarloaf. It was nice to get into today and have different conditions to get to grips with.”
Ioannis Mitakis (GRE) also mastered the conditions and scores of 3,2 rocketed the Greek to fourth in the overall rankings, behind Vasilij Zbogar (SLO) and Alican Kaynar (TUR) in second and third respectively. Jonathan Lobert’s (FRA) win in the first race of the day keeps the London 2012 bronze medallist in the hunt, lying in fifth place just a point ahead of the 2012 silver medallist Jonas Hogh-Christensen (DEN). “We had 25 to 30 knots and massive waves, epic conditions, a little gnarly at the end,” said the great Dane. “Unfortunately I ripped my sail apart and had to retire from the last race. That’s never happened to me before. It’s a missed opportunity because it could have been two good scores today.”
The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition will welcome the new, fast and intense 49erFX and over the Rio 2016 cycle, the Women’s Skiff has not failed to disappoint.
In its first Olympic outing, the 49erFX looks set to be one the most hotly contested fleets with no stand out performers grabbing the headlines throughout the quad. While Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) dominated the Men’s Skiff (49er) world championships, and any other major regatta for that matter, in the Rio 2016 quad, the 49erFX world champions were spread out throughout the world with four different world champions.
Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta 2015 is the second sailing test event in preparation for the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition. Credit Jesus Renedo/Sailing Energy
New Zealand’s Alex Maloney and Molly Meech were the first to grab the world title in 2013 following the announcement that the 49erFX would be in Rio, and the occasion hasn’t been lost on Maloney as she explains the camaraderie throughout the fleet of Olympic newcomers, “The 49er FX is going to have its Olympic debut, that’s exciting for all of us. Our fleet is quite special, we are really good friends, and I think it’s good that we are going to experience together having the first Games for the fleet. It’s a cool opportunity for girls to showcase the class.”
“Our fleet is really close, it’s a new class so everyone has done jumps at different times during the last four years. There are six or eight good girls that can be potentially on the podium, so it is going to be highly interesting to see who comes out on top.”
As Maloney explains, the jumps have been evident throughout every regatta with no single team taking the class by the scruff of the neck, but that only makes for a more interesting spectacle for the watching public.
The current world champions hail from Spain and helm Tamara Echegoyen will be looking to take that title in to her pursuit of a second consecutive gold medal when she sails with Berta Betanzos, but it hasn’t been an easy transition for the London 2012 Match Racing gold medallist, “The Olympic goodbye for the Match Race wasn’t easy to get over psychologically. It’s not easy when you have won the Olympic Games and at the next Worlds you are in the second half of the leaderboard. But we were aware that the change needed some time and working hours. We haven’t focused just on the results, but on the general picture. London is the past.”
The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition features 380 athletes from 66 nations, in 274 boats racing across ten Olympic disciplines.
Echegoyen and Betanzos have had an up and down campaign but may have just hit their stride at the right time, and Echegoyen will hope that’s the case as she needs to replace her gold medal from 2012, “When I decided to leave the Match Race, I left the gold medal at my mother’s home.”
If Echegoyen is to claim gold, there is one team in particular they need to beat. They love the waters of Rio having won the two test events to be sailed there, and it just happens to be their home, Brazil’s Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze. To compliment those test events wins they also have the 2014 world championship title, previous Rolex World Sailor of the Year tag and that added extra only they can boast, the home nation support factor.
Italy’s Francesca Clapcich have Grael and Kunze just ahead of the rest at the moment, “Regarding the favourites, I think the 49erFX is one of the Olympic classes with the most strong and dangerous teams, the first being the locals. But, with variable conditions and light winds, there are so many teams with chances.”
Clapcich and helm, Giulia Conti will fancy their own chances as they are one of the other teams to hold a world title, which they won in 2015. Added to this, in a new fleet, experience could give them a much needed edge as many a great sailor has succumbed to the pressure of an Olympics Games, “It’s my fourth Olympics, but it’s the first time that I really feel being part of a team, and this is very important. The feelings are very positive and we like Rio,” said Conti.
Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta 2015 in preparation for the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition. Credit Pedro Martinez/Sailing Energy
“Apart from being one of the most beautiful cities in the world, it’s optimum also for the sailing conditions. We like the wind, we have learned to understand the currents and the fact of having spent some time on site makes us feel, nearly, at home. We are heading into this Olympics smiling and are aware of our chances, focusing on performing well race by race. If we are the best, we will win. If someone is better than us, then we still would have given our best.”
It may be the Italian’s best that takes the first 49erFX Olympic gold medal. Or it could be one of the other Rio 2016 quad world champions. Or it could be one of the other many teams that have won Sailing World Cup or European events.
Annemiek Bekkering and Annette Duetz (NED) have been flying recently winning the 2016 Trofeo Princesa Sofia. Jena Mai Hansen and Katja Salskov-Iversen (DEN) are current European champions. Charlotte Dobson and Sophie Ainsworth (GBR) won the final Sailing World Cup before the Games. You could make a case for all in the fleet in one way or another. The only thing that you can say for definite is that there will be a new Olympic 49erFX gold medallist at the end of the Games.
49erFX racing will commence at 13:00 local time on Friday 12 August on the Aeroporto racing area.
China’s Lijia Xu, The Netherlands’ Marit Bouwmeester and Belgium’s Evi Van Acker, medallists from London 2012, will make their Olympic return in the One Person Dinghy (Laser Radial) at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
The trio were locked in a thrilling winner take all Medal Race battle at the London 2012 Olympic Games with Annalise Murphy (IRL) missing out on the podium in Weymouth and Portland, Great Britain.
LEARN about the history, technicality and famous faces of the Laser Radial
Four years on and Xu returns to defend her crown, Bouwmeester and Van Acker will be aiming to go one and two spots up whereas Murphy will be wanting to vanquish the demons from London 2012.
Aquece Rio – International Sailing Regatta 2015 is the second sailing test event in preparation for the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition. Held out of Marina da Gloria Credit Pedro Martinez/Sailing Energy
The Chinese racer initially stepped away from the sport after London 2012 but the lure was too strong as she made a return to Olympic sailing at the end of 2015.
“Of course the goal is to get another medal,” explained Xu, “but realistically it’s a very short time, only one year, to prepare.
“I decided to retire because of so many injuries. I suffered quite a lot and I wanted to have a healthy body to live the rest of my life with, rather than having pain here and there. Last August I suddenly felt that the Olympics was still something that fired me up. After two years break I actually felt my body was recovering much better than before so I thought why not give it another try.”
Xu has secured some steady results since making her return with a silver medal at the 2016 Sailing World Cup Weymouth and Portland regatta the highlight. Whatever her result at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is, the picture is much broader for Xu, “The Olympics is just part of the goal and I want to lead an active life forever and leave a legacy for Chinese sailing. That’s the ultimate goal I’m seeking and the Olympics is just a part of it.
Gintare Scheidt at Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta 2015 Credit Pedro Martinez/Sailing Energy
“I think I am one of the few who is doing something I truly love and enjoy doing. Of course, in terms of Olympic sailing and the Olympic circuit it takes a lot of effort and you need to be prepared to make some sacrifices like being away from home, travelling a lot and spending thousands of hours in the gym and on the water.
“So long as you find something that interests you it will motivate you to keep going, no matter what lies ahead. I feel very lucky to find sailing as not just my hobby but as my career.”
As for the form guide, Bouwmeester and Van Acker have dominated the Laser Radial over the Olympic quadrennial. The Dutch and Belgian racers have featured regularly on World Championship, European Championship, Sailing World Cup and Olympic Test Event podiums. They will both be major contenders in Rio.
Building up to the 2016 Games, the World Championship titles have been shared four ways. Tina Mihelic of Croatia took the title in 2013, Bouwmeester snapped it up in 2014 followed by Anne Marie Rindom (DEN) in 2015 and Alison Young (GBR) in 2016. Mihelic, Rindom and Young have the Olympic experience under their belts as well so know what it takes to perform.
Away from the World Championships, Lithuania’s Gintare Scheidt, Beijing 2008 silver medallist and wife of Brazilian sailing legend Robert, claimed gold at the 2015 Olympic Test Event. Scheidt will be making her third Olympic appearance and will also have the honour of carrying her nations flag at the Opening Ceremony on 5 August.
Further leading lights of the Laser Radial, who will have an eye on the podium, are Tatiana Drozdovskaya (BLR), Veronika Fenclova (CZE), Tuula Tenkanen (FIN), Ireland’s Murphy, Josefin Olsson (SWE) and Paige Railey (USA).
Much like the Men’s One Person Dinghy (Laser), the Laser Radial will feature some of the tightest, tactical racing at Rio 2016 and any sailor on any given day could come up with a performance of a lifetime to seal the deal.
Racing will commence at 13:10 local time on Monday 8 August on the Escola Naval racing area.
finixsportsblog 
You must be logged in to post a comment.