The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Nail biter. Edge of your seat. Photo finish. It was all of these and more for the 49erFX medal race in which Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze, of Brazil, battled to the last for the gold — and the only medal the host country would win in sailing at the Rio Olympic games.

It almost didn’t happen for the Brazilians who were in a three-way tie going into the medal race with Jena Hansen and Katja Salskov-Iversen of Denmark and Tamara Echegoyen Dominguez and Berta Betanzos Moro of Spain. Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech of New Zealand were just one point outside. These four teams were duking it out for the three podium positions.

The Brazilians started in the middle of the fleet near the boat end, sticking with the Kiwis while Spain and Denmark went after each other on the right side of the course. They were in third through the race until the final leeward leg. Through the final gate, they Brazilians split alone to the left side, allowing the leading New Zealanders to get far right, which had been favored throughout the day. At the top however, Grael and Kunz crossed easily head, rounding 10 seconds ahead of the New Zealanders. On the final run, the New Zealanders cut down the Brazilian’s lead, and for a fleeting moment it appeard that Maloney and Meech might have taken the top spot from Grael and Kunze. In one final surge the Brazilians crossed the finish line right at the pin, less than two seconds before their rivals.

“When we rounded the first mark it was quite close, and by the bottom mark we had to make the decision between right and left,” says Grael. “We chose the left gate because it was closer to us and easier. On the second beat, we went with the Danish girls and crossed with the pressure, which ended up being good and allowed us to win the race.”

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Then, the party started. Scores of Brazilian journalists and supporters jumped into the Bay with Grael and Kunze. They righted their boat and, after a victory lap, came ashore where a group of fans lifted the team and their skiff above their heads, carrying them through the crowd like queens.

“We tried to sail this regatta like we had never sailed here before,” says Grael. “We always were looking around, always watching, and paying attention. A lot of teams made a guidebook of how you should sail here, but you have to go like it’s the first day on the water and go with your feelings.”

American 49erFX sailors Paris Henken and Helena Scutt finished ninth in the medal race and 10th overall in the class. “We’re really happy with our performance, and we were proud to be a part of the medal race for Team USA,” says Scutt. “I think it was about time that women had a skiff in the Games, and I think the performances this week, with the competitive fleet we had, showed that we all belong here.”

The 49erFX was one of four classes to complete their medal race today, but it was by far the most dramatic and memorable. In the 49er, New Zealand’s Peter Burling and Blair Tuke reminded everyone why they clinched the gold medal on Tuesday, by taking a victory lap and winning the medal race. The rest of the medals were up for grabs between Australia, Germany, Denmark, France and Great Britain. At the start, it looked like Germany’s Erik Heil and Thomas Plossel put themselves directly out of contention, with a boat-end start gone wrong with a near-capsize. They trailed the fleet with Great Britain, until the Brits capsized at the fourth mark, giving the Germans a chance to pass. As the British team, Dylan Fletcher-Scott and Alain Sign struggled to right their boat, the Germans raced down the final beat, finishing eighth and enough to secure them the bronze. With synchronized backflips into the Bay, they celebrated their medal race recovery and the first German medal in a men’s sailing class since 1936. The Australians, London gold medalists Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen, won silver.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

During the 470 women’s race, it was impossible to tear anyone’s attention away from the live stream as Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha, let a silver medal slip from their grasp one leg at a time. With an excellent mid-line start, the American’s sailed the first beat with tactical precision, leading in to the first mark and defending it down the first run. At the first gate, the rounded the lefthand mark (looking upwind) and eventually lost their grip on the lead when the New Zealanders pinned them outside the top mark, dropping them back in the fleet. The New Zealanders beat them into the mark, essentially surrendering silver, and suddenly they were sailing for bronze against the Japanese. At the bottom of the run, however, they fouled Japan in a port-starboard crossing, forcing them to drop their spinnaker and take penalty turns. They rounded the final mark without a spinnaker and sailed the last reach leg to the finish under main and jib alone.

“We had a really tricky second beat and the wind was really patchy,” says American crew Provancha. “The fleet split, so we were forced to kind of go in one direction, and unfortunately, when it converged the fleet was all one tight-knit group and on the downwind we got a little bit out of pressure and got too greedy and fouled near the mark.”

Onboard cameras showed the heartbreaking moment when Haeger and Provancha crossed the line, Haeger in tears. Provancha is reflective. “I think there’s a lot still to play for,” she says. “Obviously, we were disappointed that we didn’t perform today. But, we really gave it our all and fought really hard. It’s just not our time right now. It doesn’t take away how proud I am of what we’ve done and how awesome this team has been.”

Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark, from Great Britain, clinched the gold before the 470 women’s medal race, and enjoyed the confirmation and celebration on the beach. They were followed by New Zealand’s Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie with silver, and France’s Camille Lecointre and Hélène Defrance rounding out the podium in bronze.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

For the 470 Men, the top three were decided, but the question was the color of their hardware at the end of the day. Croatia’s Sime Fantel and Igor Marinec prevailed, after leading through the entire week, winning their country’s first gold medal in sailing, just two days after Tonci Stipanovic won the country’s first-ever sailing medal in the Laser. Australia’s Mat Belcher and Will Ryan finished the regatta with a silver medal, and Greece’s Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis** won bronze. The American men, Stu McNay and Dave Hughes put in a solid final effort, finishing second in the medal race and fourth overall.

As the winter sun sets over Rio, when the medal ceremonies and press conferences wrap up and cheering fans have finally relinquished their spots on Flamengo Beach, the Rio 2016 Olympic sailing regatta will officially come to a close.

For some of the athletes, their sights are already set on Tokyo, the next site of Olympic sailing, in 2020. For others, Brazil was their last hurrah, and they’re ready to move on to their next sailing project or perhaps retire from the sport. Many more still are undecided on the next Games. The Olympic regatta on Guanabara Bay was one of the trickiest venues that many can recall, testing patience, strength and skill all at once. Though every sailor who competed in Rio is at the pinnacle of the sport, there’s no doubt that the best sailors in each of the ten classes are those taking home a new piece of metal — be it gold, silver or bronze.

Full results from all races are available on sailing.org.

The post Olympics Daily Debrief, Day 11 — Saving the Best for Last appeared first on Sailing World.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

The regatta was nearly over for the men’s and women’s 470 classes. The forecast looked good, the breeze on the horizon, but it simply didn’t come through. Race Committee called off the men’s class at about 1500 and the women’s class at 1615, bumping their medal race to Thursday. It will be held on the Pao course on the same day as both skiff classes’ medal races.

With no racing to report on, Sailing World looks back — way back, in some cases, to how medalists from past Olympic games have fared here in Rio. Important to note is that many Olympians from past Games are in coach or organizational support roles in Brazil, but this gallery reviews only the current competitors. Sailors are listed based on their current class.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Laser

Robert Scheidt, Brazil. Gold medals in the Laser in Atlanta (1996) and Athens (2004), silver in the Laser in Sydney (2000), and silver medals in the Star in Beijing (2008) and London (2012). He came into the regatta as the face of Brazilian sailing, with hopes to medal again and break the individual sailing medal record by winning his sixth. His entire regatta was up and down, and Scheidt finished the regatta in fourth overall. His final shining moment was a win in the medal race, but it wasn’t enough to get him the hardware.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Laser Radial

Marit Bouwmeester, Netherlands. Silver medal in the Laser Radial in London (2012). Bouwmeester had a less than perfect start to the regatta, scoring a 14th on the second day of racing. She rallied, finishing the medal race in seventh, enough to win her the gold medal in Rio. She wasn’t certain she had won at first, but when her coach confirmed her gold medal victory, she celebrated by hugging the silver and bronze medalists before taking a victory lap with the Dutch flag.

Lilly Xu, China. Bronze medal in the Laser Radial in Beijing (2008) and gold medal in the Laser Radial in London (2012). Xu was plagued with three DSQs involving right of way situations with other sailors during preliminary racing, and finished 18th in the fleet. Xu sailed in Rio with a shoulder injury that had her cradling her injured arm at the end of each day of racing.

Evi Van Acker, Belgium. Bronze in the Laser Radial in London (2012). Van Acker had a rocky start to the Rio regatta, and after the first reserve day seemed to rally. Her team made a statement naming a gastrointestinal illness contracted in July for her lethargy and inability to perform well. Van Acker briefly rallied in the regatta before finishing the medal race in sixth, placing her in fourth overall and off the podium.

Gintare (Volungevičiūtė) Scheidt, Lithuania. Silver medal in the Laser Radial in Beijing (2008). Scheidt won her silver medal under her maiden name before marrying Brazilian Laser sailor Robert Scheidt. She started off the regatta in Rio with a starting penalty, following it up with a hopeful race win in a startlingly similar scorecard to her husbands’ after the initial day of competition. Gintare Scheidt was unable to continue her winning streak, finishing seventh overall.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Finn

Vasilij Zbogar, Slovenia. Bronze medal in the Laser in Athens (2004) and Silver in the Laser in Beijing (2008). Zbogar transitioned to the Finn for the Rio Olympics, and added a Silver medal in the class to his already impressive collection. Zbogar announced on Tuesday, after the medal race, that Rio would be his final Olympic appearance.

Jonas Hogh-Christensen, Denmark. Silver medal in the Finn in London (2012). Hogh-Christensen couldn’t quite get it together in Rio. After the first day he complained of his perceived incompetence of the race committee for finishing a race despite dying breeze. The next day, he seemed to be rallying when the clew ring tore out of his mainsail, forcing him to DNF. In the final days of the regatta he was unable to score anything in the single digits, finishing outside of the medal race in 16th.

Jonathan Lobert, France. Bronze medal in the Finn in London (2012). Lobert did very little talking to the media during the Rio games. With one bullet and the rest of his race scores seven or higher, Lobert finished outside of the medal race, in 14th overall.

Max Salminen, Sweden. Gold medal in the Star class in London (2012). Making the transition from a two person boat to one is a challenge, but Salminen trained with class veteran Jonathan Lobert, France, to get up to speed. He had moderately strong results in Rio, finishing sixth overall at the end of the regatta.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

RS:X Men

Dorian Van Rijsselberghe, Netherlands. Gold medal in the RS:X London (2012). Van Rijsselberghe officially had the gold medal wrapped up with a race to spare, but in his performance through the week he would have been a safe bet much earlier. He jockeyed with Nick Dempsey a few times, but with seven bullets out of twelve preliminary races, it was no surprise that he repeated his London gold.

Nick Dempsey, Great Britain. Silver medal in the RS:X in London (2016), Bronze in the RS:X in Beijing (2008) . It wasn’t just deja vu, Dempsey and Van Rijsselberghe indeed did repeat the top two tiers of podium as it was in London. For Dempsey, his silver in Rio made him the most decorated Olympic windsurfer in history with three medals.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

RS:X Women

Marina Alabau, Spain. Gold medal in RS:X in London (2012). In a seven way battle for medals in the women’s RS:X here in Rio, Alabau was in good position. She carried a DSQ on her scorecard which, while discarded, kept her from discarding any other high finish to possibly win the bronze medal. By finishing fifth in the medal race she ended up fifth overall.

Bryony Shaw, Great Britain. Bronze medal in the RS:X in Beijing (2008). In the later days of the Olympic regatta, Shaw looked like she might have recovered from her difficult start and have a chance at a medal. With the rest of the top of the class performing consistently on top, Shaw was out of podium contention before the medal race began, finishing in ninth overall.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

470 Men

Lucas Calabrese and Juan de la Fuente, Argentina. Bronze medal in the 470 London (2012), de la Fuente also won bronze in the 470 in Sydney (2008) with Javier Conte. The London medalists did not have a strong performance in the regatta, finishing the preliminary racing with a DNE penalty (cannot be thrown out) for failing to do a penalty turn in a port-starboard conflict with another boat, and failing to show up to their protest hearing that evening. The official decision can be found here. Calabrese and de la Fuente will finish 16th overall and not sail in the medal race.

Mathew Belcher, Australia. Gold medal in the 470 London (2012) with Malcom Page. Belcher now sails with Will Ryan. Belcher and Ryan are in medal contention, for any material, going into the medal race for the men’s 470 scheduled for Thursday. They’re one of three teams in contention for medals. They currently are in third place with 40 points, 13 points behind class leaders.

Luke Patience, Great Britain. Silver medal in the 470 London (2012) with Stuart Bithell. Tied with the Swedish team in points going into the medal race, Patience and his current crew Chris Grube are out of medal contention in fifth place. With a UFD, a 20 and a 21 on their score sheet, the British 470 men had an uphill battle to even get into the medal race. They are currently in sixth, outside of medal contention.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

470 Women

Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie, New Zealand. Gold medal in the 470 in London (2012). In an incredible rivial of their scores, Aleh and Powrie started the Olympics with a DSQ in their first race and a UFD in the sixth, forcing them to carry one of the penalty scores in their final points count. They also posted four bullets in ten races, putting them in second place overall going into the medal race and defending the silver medal against the teams below them.

Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark, Great Britain. Silver medal in the 470 in London (2012). With incredibly consistent top-of-the-fleet results through all five days of preliminary racing, Mills and Clark clinched the gold medal in Rio before the medal race. They’ll sail their victory lap on Thursday, weather permitting.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Nacra 17

Isabel Swan, Brazil. Bronze medal in the 470 in Beijing (2008) with Fernanda Oliviera. Sailing in the mixed multihull with Samuel Albrecht, Swan just held on to medal race position in the fleet before finishing 8th in the medal race and 10th overall. They had their moments of brilliance on the race course, but a mainsheet malfunction in the first day and hitting a submerged object during the medal race put them back further in the fleet.

Allan Nørregaard, Denmark. Bronze medal in the 49er in London (2012) with Peter Lang. Finishing outside of medal race contention, Norregaard and crew Anette Viborg stayed in the middle of the fleet for most of the regatta before and 11th and 15th in the last day of preliminary racing relegated them to 12th overall.

Santiago Lange, Argentina. Bronze medal in the Tornado in Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008) with Carlos Espinola. Lange and crew Cecilia Carranza Saroli were the human-interest story of the Rio Games. Lange, sailing in his sixth Olympics, was diagnosed with cancer last year and had half of a lung removed before qualifying and ultimately winning the gold medal with Saroli in the Nacra. Lange was the oldest Olympic sailor competing in Brazil, at 54. His sons, Klaus and Yago, sail in the 49er. Lange has not ruled out a seventh Olympics.

Sofia Bekatorou, Greece. Gold medal in the 470 in Athens (2004) with Emilia Tsoulfa, and bronze medal in the Yngling in Bejing (2008) with Virginia Kravarioti and Sofia Papadopoulou. Bekatorou and crew Michalis Pateniotis never quite got a hold of the Nacra 17 fleet in Rio, starting the regatta with a DNF and a DSQ, and scoring a UFD on the final day of preliminary racing, the duo fell to 18th overall and outside medal race contention.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

49er

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, New Zealand. Silver medal in the 49er in London (2012). Burling and Tuke dominated the 49er scene, winning every regatta since London until a few weeks before the Olympics where they finished third in the South American championships. They came into the Games hot, scoring two bullets on their first day and holding the lead on the fleet from then on. Burling and Tuke, who are teammates with America’s Cup challenger Emirates Team New Zealand, clinched the gold medal before Thursday’s medal race.

Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen, Australia. Gold medal in the 49er in London (2012). Though they’ve lost the gold medal spot for Rio, the America’s Cup Artemis Racing teammates are in third overall with a chance at silver or bronze in the medal race to be contested on Thursday.

Jonas Warrer, Denmark. Gold medal in the 49er in Beijing with Martin Kirketerp. Despite a rollercoaster of a preliminary series, including a DSQ and a bullet, Warrer and Christian Peter Lübeck will go into Thursday’s medal race in fifth, just outside of medal contention by two points.

Full results for all classes are available at sailing.org

The post Olympics Daily Debrief, Day 10 — Familiar Faces appeared first on Sailing World.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

The Olympic Regatta is a culmination of a week’s worth of sailing, and while medalists can be decided before the final race, the double-points, all-stakes on the table finals are still the most heart-pounding moments in Olympic sailing.

Laser

Australia’s Tom Burton was the only person who could take away gold from Croatia’s Tonci Stipanovic today in the Laser medal race, and Stipanovic knew it. In the prestart, Stipanovic attacked Burton, sailing in front of him and backing his sail, forcing Burton to sit behind him. Stipanovic needed at least six boats to finish ahead of Burton to secure his gold medal, and his maneuver was meant to prevent Burton from starting before he was at least that far behind in the fleet. However, Burton was not so easily defeated. Stipanovic left space between his boat and the starting line, enough to ensure he himself didn’t OCS. Seeing the space, Burton sheeted in and sailed to leeward of Stipanovic, forcing Stipanovic to tack away to avoid contact as the windward boat. In this split-second maneuver, Burton forced Stipanovic to tack well around, and in doing so delaying his start. The Australian took off on the first beat, tailed by Sam Meech from New Zealand, andRobert Scheidt from Brazil. He finished third to Stipanovic’s ninth, winning the gold.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

“It’s the first medal in sailing in history of Croatian sport which is really key,” says Stipanovic. “Today I was trying to stay in first place, but it didn’t happen. I’m a bit disappointed, but as it settles in, I’m and more happy with my silver medal.”

Scheidt, who was sailing for bronze, did manage to win the medal race, but Meech’s fourth place win assured him the bronze over the famous Brazilian. Scheidt failed to win his record-breaking sixth Olympic medal.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Laser Radial

On the second beat of the Laser Radial medal race, Netherland’s Marit Bouwmeester was losing the gold. Ireland’s Annalise Murphy was leading her by four boats, enough to steal away Bouwmeester’s spot atop the podium. Then, the fleet split into two distinct packs on the final run, with Bouwmeester leading the pack behind, fighting to make it up to the front. As they eased and trimmed downwind, Murphy was nearly within reach of gold when boats started to pass her. Murphy sailed the final downwind leg beautifully, but her boatspeed was lacking. She slipped back in the pack, putting Bouwmeester ahead of her in points. Murphy finished fifth to Bouwmeester’s seventh, earning herself the silver medal.

For Murphy, Rio was a vindication of her disappointment in London, where she led for most of the Regatta before finishing off the podium, in fourth, overall.

“It’s incredible, I was pretty heartbroken after London,” says Murphy. “I had been in medal position all week. So this week, to be in medal position again, it’s been incredible. I didn’t think six months ago I would be a medal contender here so to be able to come back in the past couple of months has been a dream come true.”

When Bouwmeester crossed the line, she looked to a support boat for confirmation, mouthing “Me?” and pointing to herself. When she was answered in the affirmative, she raised her hands above her head in triumph. She sailed over to Murphy and bronze medalist Anne-Marie Rindom, from Denmark, to offer her congratulations, and while Bouwmeester took a victory lap with the Dutch flag, Murphy and Rindom jumped in the water to celebrate their win.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Finn

While the gold medal was already in the bag for Great Britain’s Giles Scott before the medal race, the silver and bronze were up for grabs among the top two thirds of the fleet. For USA’s Caleb Paine, the pressure was mounting. He entered the Olympics after a stressful national trials that came down to the final race of the final event against Zach Railey, who he trained with when Railey went to London in 2012. In the Olympics, Paine had a new series of ups and downs, including an amazing second place finish comeback that was protested. He was scored a DSQ, dropping him well below medal race contention. The next day, video evidence convinced the jury to overturn the penalty, and Paine’s scores were restored, sending him into the medal race in fourth overall.

For Paine, the entire medal race was intense. He took the lead from the start, starting on the boat end and seeing a right side shift over his shoulder, grabbing it first. He took the lead and extended it, leg by leg, ultimately crossing the finish line more than 80 meters in front of gold medalist Giles Scott. There was never a doubt through the entire medal race that Paine could possibly lose the lead, he was simply too far ahead.

“It was a tough push and a hard medal race, but it makes it easy when you make the right move right off the bat,” says Paine. “The rest of the race was making sure I didn’t mess it up. I knew I had to stay certain points ahead of certain people, but I knew if I got out in front and won the race things would become a lot easier due to the fact that it would add stress to the people behind and maybe cause them to make erratic decisions.”

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Silver medalist Vasilij Zbogar, from Slovenia, confirmed that this was his last Olympics at 40 years old. “I feel relief that it’s over and that it went well,” he says. “I was only dreaming of this a week ago. My first two medals were in Lasers, this is the Finn, and as the oldest sailor in the fleet it was even more difficult. I was struggling for the last few years, and continued to push myself. Fortunately, my mind is still 20 years old. I tried to sail as smart as possible, especially because strong breeze is difficult for me. I tried to survive the strongest wind, and I did survive. All I wanted was to challenge for the medals.”

As Zbogar ascended the podium to collect his silver medal, his countrymen chanted his name. He pumped his firsts above his head in time, medal around his neck, and took his final Olympic bow.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Nacra 17

On-water umpiring saved the day for Nacra fans, as the race was dotted with penalties and it could have been an extremely late night while juries sorted out the chaos. Fortunately, there are no outstanding protests in the fleet, so the medals do stand.

Even with two penalties against them, Argentina’s Santiago Lange and Cecilia Carranza Saroli finished sixth in the medal race, winning the gold medal. For Lange and Saroli, it wasn’t the actual finish of the race that was the defining moment, but the meaning behind their journey to get there.

Lange proved that his age (54) didn’t limit his ability to win an Olympic medal. Nor did cancer, losing half of a lung, or the challenge of a brand new boat and team. None of the medals were locked away in this class, but with a clean race and a 6th place finish in the medal race, Lange and Saroli beat out Australia’s Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin who took home silver.

“I started this Olympic cycle as a coach for my sons,” says Lange. “In the summer, I was running on the beach in Brazil and decided it was too much responsibility to coach my own sons.”

Intrigued by the challenge of a new multihull (Lange’s medals from 2004 and 2008 are in the Tornado catamaran) and the mixed-gender boat, Lange teamed up with Saroli to see how they’d do. Lange says that two days into sailing together, they had already set their sights on the Olympics.

Lange was diagnosed with cancer in 2015. Though his speedy recovery following the removal of a portion of his lung is impressive, Lange prefers to focus on the sailing. “This may help to give strength to many people who are going through what I’ve been through,” says Lange of his illness. “But, I prefer to focus on what we did athletically. The disease has nothing to do with it, it was a stone in the road. I became obsessed with getting to Rio very well prepared and we did.”

With a gold medal around his neck, and two more at home, Lange still isn’t finished. “I still have a dream,” he says. “If I feel like I have a good project and chances to do well, I will go to Tokyo. I will try. As long as I can do it and my knees survive, my back, I will keep doing it.”

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Beyond the Pao medal racecourse, which was the epicenter of attention today, the skiffs and 470s both completed their preliminary races. New Zealand’s Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, in the 49er, clinched the gold medal before the medal race, scheduled for Thursday. The 49erFX is the opposite, with the top three teams tied for points and the fourth one point behind. Spain, Brazil, Denmark and New Zealand will be battling for all three medals between them, as teams outside of the top four are simply too far below in the count.

Interestingly, the 470 fleets have a similar theme. On the men’s side, the top three have closed themselves into a battle for medals, while on the women’s side eight teams have a chance to medal. Great Britain’s Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark have squared away gold if they can sail a clean medal race, but silver and bronze could go to any of the other seven teams. New Zealand’s Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie have climbed back from a terrible start to the week to second place, but they’ll be in serious defense mode on Thursday to keep their place on the podium.

Full results from the regatta are available at sailing.org

The post Olympics Daily Debrief, Day 9 — Moments of Victory appeared first on Sailing World.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen, Australia’s 49er squad, had just crossed the finish line and were heading to their coach’s boat when they took a peek under the sail. A squall line was barreling down on the 49er fleet so fast, Outteridge and Jensen had only a few seconds to spare in which to douse their kite and get their sails down, tie on to the rib and hold on for dear life. Other boats in the fleet weren’t so lucky, with knockdown force winds topping out above 40 knots throwing sailing and bare-poled boats over in rapid succession. For the skiffs and 470 fleets, the race back to the boat park was the most important of the day.

“We ragged it quite fast on the way in,” says Germany’s 49er skipper Erik Heil. “But what lucky timing. Just after the last guy came across the finish line, the breeze came in 130 degrees from the other side, and with massive force. Even with just the mast up and no sails, we still needed to get on the trapeze to stop the boat tipping over. We have some boat work to do, we have damaged the sails, we have to check the mast.”

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Despite the chaotic final hour of the day, the earlier part of the day was gorgeous sailing, with 10-14 knots, flat water and sunshine. The course was relatively even with a slight advantage at the top mark on the left side due to an ebbing tide, and New Zealand’s Peter Burling and Blair Tuke kept their grip on the lead. Rivals Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen closed the gap on the Kiwis today. “The way forward is to focus on ourselves, correct the mistakes we’ve made so far this regatta and get some good results,” says Tuke. The Australians suffered early on in the regatta, executing poor starts and failing to get out of the pack. They’ve since recovered to third overall, and if they can continue to close the gap on the Kiwis and Germany’s Erick Heil and Tomas Plossel tomorrow in the final day of preliminary racing, they’ll have a chance at gold. If Burling and Tuke continue to reign, they could run away with the gold tomorrow.

In the 49erFX, the Spanish team, Tamara Echegoyen and Berta Betanzos, had two bullets out of three, putting them in first overall ahead of 2016 World Champions Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech from New Zealand. The Echegoyen and Betanzos have sailed extremely well in the light breeze, but have struggled when it’s steadier. Today they proved they can handle both, and have certainly given the world champs a challenge. Brazil’s Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze are one point behind the New Zealanders, with Denmark’s Jena Hansen and Katja Salsov-Iverson four points behind them. This is one of the closest fleets we’ve seen so far here in Rio, and the 49erFX fleet is undoubtedly one of, if not the most, competitive female fleet.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

The skiffs were the only fleet to get in any completed races today, two for the 49ers and two for the FXes. The 470 men did start one race, and then abandoned it due to too little wind. The entire day was all about waiting, as the Laser and Laser Radial fleets were scheduled to contest their medal races but were thwarted by an absent sea breeze. The radials did go out to start their race, just when the massive front came through and threatened to wipe them out, too. The Race Committee finally called the race due to too much wind. Reports show that the wind on the Pao course, inside, went from 3-5 knots to over 35 in a matter of 20 minutes. Umbrellas on the beach were lifted out of the sand, and the Radial girls were planing as they waited for tows back to shore.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

The 470s were slated for a layday tomorrow but are now scheduled to contest the three races originally on tap for today. This means they lose their pre-medal race reserve day, as the medal race is still scheduled for Wednesday. Tuesday’s racing will include the final skiff series, and the Laser, Radial, Finn and Nacra medal races. The skiffs will aim to complete races 10, 11 and 12, rounding out the preliminary series.

Full results can be found at sailing.org.

Editor’s note: we will update this story as schedule changes are announced.

The post Olympics Daily Debrief, Day 8 — Hurry Up and Wait appeared first on Sailing World.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Today was truly Super Sunday for the Great Britain sailing squad. With Nick Dempsey‘s record-breaking silver in the RS:X (he now has three RS:X medals, the most in history) and Giles Scott securing Finn gold with an unassailable lead going into Monday’s medal race, the Brits pulled into second place in the overall Olympic medal count — quite a feat for the small nation.

Dempsey was beat out of the top spot before the medal race even began, by Netherland’s Dorian Van Rijsselberghe in a carbon-copy repeat of the 2012 Games, but had himself secured silver in the same manner. If Van Rijsselberghe didn’t make enough of a statement securing gold before the final, he won the medal race, too.

“We had a wonderful week sailing and today it was only just for show, but I’m glad that I pulled off another first place and win,” says Van Rijsselberghe. “I’m very fortunate.”

Immediately after finishing the medal race, Van Rijsselberghe boarded a nearby spectator boat to be congratulated by none other than the Dutch royal family. Both Van Rijsselberghe and Dempsey eluded today that they would not be returning for the next summer Games, in Tokyo in 2020. But, if “retired” athletes like Michael Phelps have taught us anything about the Olympics, don’t believe it until qualification is over. If it’s indeed true, the RS:X men’s fleet will wide open in four years time.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Scott’s performance in the Finn is certainly worthy of his secured gold medal. Even before the regatta, he had been sailing in Great Britain’s Finn star Ben Ainsle“s shadow since before the London Games, and when Ainsle retired it was uncertain if Scott would be able to carry the gold medal torch. In Rio, he started the regatta on about as wrong a foot as he could, with a 17th place finish in the first race. Rallying with a third, then a 1-2 in the second day, he again slipped with an 11th in the third day before shaking whatever start-line gremlin which had been bothering him through the regatta to secure his gold in the final four races, over two days.

“Coming down the last reach in that last race, I didn’t quite know what to make of it,” he says. “I’m not the emotional sort, but started crying. It’s such a weird, but amazing thing to go through. It’s incredible.”

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

It was a great day to be French, too. The French Olympic squad put away two medals themselves, with RS:X sailor Charline Picon winning gold on the women’s side and Pierre Le Coq winning bronze on the men’s side.

For Le Coq, his race truly was a battle for bronze, and he just got it by beating Poland’s Piotr Myszka by two places (four points) in the medal race. Myszka made the fatal mistake of going right on two downwind legs on a course where the left was extremely favored, the first move giving Le Coq the lead and the second letting the now-bronze medalist pull away and allowing Greece’s Byron Kokkalanis to get between the two, securing Le Coq the medal.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

The Finns and Nacras both completed their final day of preliminary racing today, with the top ten from each fleet going into Tuesday’s medal race after a well-earned break.

For the Finns, the winner is decided, and the silver medal comes down to three — Slovenia’s Vasilij Zbogar, Croatia’s Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic, and USA’s Caleb Paine. Gaspic lead the fleet after day one, but has struggled in the seabreeze as the Finns have raced further out in the bay. At 40 years old, he says he’s much lighter than his competitors which makes him a great contender in light air, but he struggles to sail as hard in the bigger stuff. The medal race course is the Pao du Acucar, which has been light every day since the Olympic regatta, which could give Gaspic the advantage over young and super-physical Zbogar. Even so, if there’s anything these athletes have learned about Rio during training and the Games, the weather is completely unpredictable.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

USA’s Caleb Paine will have to win the medal race and Zbogar finish last to win a silver, but stranger things have happened in the Olympics. If this were the case, they’d be tied with 76 points, but the tiebreaker in this regatta goes to the higher finish in the medal race. For Paine, the road to the final has been bumpier than most. Though he was temporarily DSQ after a second place finish, video evidence came to light the next day that prompted the jury to overturn the DSQ. Without that change, Paine wouldn’t have made the medal race. With his confidence restored, Paine could bring the USA their first sailing medal since 2008.

Racing immediately after the Finns, Argentina’s Santiago Lange and Camille Saroli lead the Nacra fleet, but only just. At 54, Lange’s two bronze medals in the Tornado in 2004 and 2008 have given this multihull master a slight edge over the class. “We haven’t done anything yet,” says a modest Lange when asked about their medal opportunity. “The competition we are facing are really good sailors and the Nacra fleet is very close, which is why we’re so inconsistent.” Lange is looking forward to the rest day, especially taking the time to rest (Lange had surgery last year to remove a lung) and to watch his sons, Klaus Lange and Yago Lange, compete in the 49er. There are seven boats, including the Argentinians, who have a chance at a gold medal on Tuesday, and all ten could medal at some place. Lange and Saroli are not guaranteed a medal of any variety due to the closeness of the class.

Full results are available at sailing.org.

The post Olympics Daily Debrief, Day 7 — More Medals than Medal Races appeared first on Sailing World.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

It hasn’t quite hit Toni Stipanovic yet that on Monday he’ll be standing on a podium with a medal around his neck. In the media zone, he rubs his chin pensively as the enormity of his accomplishment is laid in front of him by questioning reporters.

“It was a long journey from the first day,” he says. “I know that I sailed a really good regatta from the beginning and, whew, it’s really good. It’s huge to win this for Croatia. I don’t think I yet understand what I did, but it will come.”

Australia’s Tom Burton, who is guaranteed bronze himself, is the only sailor within striking distance of taking gold from Stipanovic, but the Croatian is guaranteed silver with his point margin (48) ahead of third place Sam Meech from New Zealand.

“The eight points I gave away the other day really came back to get me,” says Burton. “It’s great to lock a medal away, but I’m sure Tonci will have a plan to lock gold away. I haven’t made the plan yet, it’s still sinking in right now what we’ve done.”

Burton is guaranteed at least a bronze, but there’s a spot open on the podium for a handful of others, including Brazil’s Robert Scheidt who is going for a record sixth Olympic medal. The Lasers will contest their medal race on Monday on the Pao de Acucar course.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

In the Laser Radial, there are no factual guarantees, but for Netherland’s Marit Bouwmeester to lose a podium place would be one of the most major surprises in the history of Olympic sailing. She’s 19 points ahead of Belgium’s Evi Van Acker, who currently sits in fourth after a serious comeback day today. Van Acker contracted a gastrointestinal illness in July that the Belgian Olympic Committee says she has yet to fully recover from, pointing to the water in Guanabara Bay as a probable culprit. As a result, Van Acker was unable to physically exert herself over extended periods of time. Yesterday, the Radials had a day off from racing and it appears that it did the trick for the London bronze medalist who posted 2-1-5 on her scorecard today.

Denmark’s Anne-Marie Rindom lost a hold of her fleet dominance today to Bouwmeester, after a bad start in the first race and a bad call on the second beat to separate from the pack landed her in 22nd. “I made a mistake, and that’s it,” she says. “I haven’t made many mistakes this week and sometimes you just have to make one, apparently, and that was my race.” In the second, she also had a bad start, but due to a plastic bag snagging on her centerboard. But, on the second downwind leg, she found her speed, and by the last beat she was “sailing her ass off and hoping for the best.” She found it, and goes into the medal race in second overall.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

If there were a ‘race of the day’ award in the Olympics, it would go to USA’s 49erFX team, Paris Henken and Helena Scutt today. Starting off with a 14th in the day’s first contest, they made great use of their time on the live-streaming second race to dial in their speed and fly around the course, taking the lead early and holding on. They fended off Brazils’ Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze in the final run to cross the line 16 seconds ahead of the hometown sailors.

That race was nearly a disaster, though. At the start of what would have been race five, Henken and Scutt were on the line when the British team came down on them and hit the American boat. Capsized on the line, Henken and Scutt scrambled to right their boat. In a stroke of luck, there was a general recall, and the Americans were given reprieve. They set back up for the new start, and from there it was all over for the rest of the fleet.

“We had a really good start, got a punch off the line, and it was pretty easy after that,” says Henken. “From there it was standard covering skills, making sure we didn’t make moves too early to give [Brazil] a chance to get between us and the next mark or the finish.”

Henken called the day her picture-perfect sailing day. “We had some waves, so we were pumping the kite downwind and really moving our bodies, playing with it,” she says. “Upwind, we could see the puffs coming and could trim the sheet in and out and float our bow higher and higher. It was really a great day to get in tune with the boat. It was fast and fun.”

The duo currently sits in ninth overall after six races. They’ve got a reserve day on the books for tomorrow before their last two days of racing.

For full results from the day and remaining fleets, visit sailing.org

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The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

On the track at the Olympic stadium, Ethiopian runner Almaz Ayana ran 10,000m to a gold medal at world-record speed. An hour away, up the coast of Rio de Janeiro, another speedster was getting to work. Well, two: Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, New Zealand’s 49er kings, were zipping up the Pao de Acucar course, with seemingly unmatchable in boatspeed.

Competitors remark time and again on the Kiwi’s boatspeed. They consistently posted the highest speed in the fleet, save for the first beats of each race. Burling and Tuke do struggle with starts, but their ability to catch and pass anyone who happens to start in front of them is undeniable.

When asked how they consistently sailed a quarter to half a knot faster than their competition on the same tack, Burling said that their key is momentum, to get the skiff going fast and flat and ride the speed from there. “We kept putting the boat in the good breeze,” says Burling. “That was the difference today, who could get into the puff, put the bow down and go fast.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

They were nearly beaten in the Olympic opening race when they called a shift wrong in the second beat, allowing the Danish team, Jonas Warrer and Christian Peter Lubeck, to sneak past them. The triumph for the Danes was short-lived, as they failed to go through the final gate, had to douse their kite and retrace their steps, and in the process lost seven boats, including Burling and Tuke. The New Zealand team blasted by and took the win by 25 seconds over the Japanese team, Yukio Makino and Kenji Takahashi. In the second race, they increased their margin, beating Ireland’s Ryan Seaton and Matthew Mcgovern by 42 seconds.

The Kiwis walked away from the day with two bullets, an excellent start to the first of twelve scheduled races. The fleet is now behind in races as there were three scheduled for today, but a postponement made it impossible to get a third start before sunset. It’s unlikely the missed race will be made up, as according to the sailing instructions there need only to be six races in the class prior to the medal race. The 49ers have three more days of scheduled racing before the medal race.

Burling and Tuke’s biggest potential rivals, Australia’s Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen, struggled. “We certainly didn’t lose the event, but we haven’t set the world on fire yet,” says Outteridge. “Both races, we missed the best spots and we were in the pack. We were never able to get back up into those lead groups. Our strategy was not to risk much on the first day, and those races required a bit of risk at times.”

It’s still early days for the 49er, but there’s no denying the intimidation factor that Burling and Tuke now have on their side after two wins. They can only hope to emulate the performance that the Netherland’s Dorian Van Rijsselberghe put on on the RS:X course. Pending any protests or penalties, and his completion of the medal race in any place, Van Rijsselberghe has secured his second consecutive gold medal in the RS:X. Right behind him is Great Britain’s Nick Dempsey who, under the same circumstances as Van Rijsselberghe, will get the silver medal.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

With seven bullets over twelve races, Van Rijsselberghe’s worst result in the preliminary races was a sixth. Dempsey won three races. Most of the RS:X races were in light air and shifty breeze, making tactics the name of the game. “It’s not a matter of luck,” says Van Rijsselberghe of his impressive results. “It’s a matter of seeing the conditions the best and taking the chance to go for it.” The bronze medal in the fleet is still undecided, as are all medals in the women’s RS:X fleet. Both medal races will be contested on Sunday.

For the women’s skiff, today was not only their first race but their Olympic debut. The Canadians, Erin Rafuse and Danielle Boyd, came out on top. “These conditions are right in our wheelhouse,” says Rafuse. “We know we can throw the boat wherever we want. This is definitely our best start to a regatta.”

The Lasers and Radials had their second to last day of preliminary racing, but in both classes there are no safe bets for medals yet. Denmark’s Anne-Marie Rindom has secured the lead in the Radials with her consistent high-fleet finishes, but London gold medalist Lily Xu, London silver medalist Marit Bouwmeester and Ireland’s Annalise Murphy are within striking distance. London bronze medallist and fleet favorite, Evi Van Acker, from Belgium has struggled, due to what her coaches say is a gastrointestinal illness. Responses for comment were not returned, but a team representative did elude to pollution as a possible cause of Van Acker’s illness in a Reuters report.

In the Laser fleet, Croatia’s Tonci Stipanović maintained his lead, but just, over Brazil’s Robert Scheidt who made an incredible comeback in the first race of the day, climbing from 31st to 4th. Scheidt is looking to break the record for most Olympic sailing medals won by an individual, and with two races to go until the medal race, he’s given himself a fair shot. He currently has five, tied with countryman Torben Grael and Great Britain’s Ben Ainsle.

On the 470 courses, favorites Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic maintained their lead, but only just. Australia’s Mat Belcher and Will Ryan are only two points behind, but with a comfortable lead on the rest of the fleet. On the women’s side, New Zealand’s Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie lost their hold of the lead to Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark, from Great Britain. Aleh and Powrie now sit in 6th.

The Finn and Nacra sailors enjoyed a reserve day off.

World Sailing’s results website seems to have worked out it’s kinks. Full results are available at sailing.org.

The post Olympics Daily Debrief, Day 5 — Running Away With It appeared first on Sailing World.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article reported that USA’s Caleb Paine was DSQ in the race discussed below as the result of a protest. On Saturday, Day 6, the jury decision was overturned and Paine’s second place finish was reinstated.

Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha certainly like keeping their fans on the edge of their seats. Off the starting line in tenth, they slowly made their way up the fleet, making an incredible climb on the final downwind leg from ninth to second place.

“We didn’t take a lot of risk, and we focused on one boat at a time,” says Provancha on the team’s tactics for finding passing opportunities. “Every little thing you do right helps you make up lots of ground.” In the last race of the day the wind kicked up and a number of boats capsized, but Haeger and Provancha’s conservative and steady progression in the fleet paid off, earning then a second place finish.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

“There was a lot of chicken-jibing happening that last downwind leg,” says Provancha. “We did not do that, I’m proud to say. We were just working our hardest to stay upright and get to the finish line.”

Though their high-fleet finish is certainly a highlight on their scorecard, it’s the first race of the day where their true perseverance showed. In the pre-start, their halyard slipped out of the halyard lock. “We heard the pop about ten seconds before the start, and it wouldn’t click back in,” says Provancha. “It was so windy and we had to put so much Cunningham on that it kept slipping though the race.” Without two feet of their halyard, they still managed to round out the top ten and sail into 6th overall.

New Zealand’s Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie, who currently lead the class, said the day was all about survival sailing. “It was about as much as we could handle in the 470,” says Aleh. “We were getting totally airborne at points. The goal was to keep Polly on the wire and keep the mast in the air.”

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

Further outside on the ocean course, it became more evident that USA’s Caleb Paine should consider adopting the nickname “comeback kid.” In both his final race yesterday and today, Paine staged impressive recoveries in the Finn. Today he posted his best result so far, climbing from ninth to second in the final leg. “I kept looking for a good lane and something to tack into,” says Paine. “The goal is to get the boat to foot and really let it loose.” Like his teammates in the 470, the final leg was the most chaotic in the building breeze and swell, but Paine held on and crossed just behind Great Britain’s Giles Scott. “I need to get my starts a little better from time to time,” says Paine of his habit of starting behind and finishing ahead. “I definitely like making it hard on myself there’s no doubt about that.”

Paine’s second place finish in the race is pending a protest against him, from Croatia’s Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic.

Six of the ten classes competed today, and results are available at sailing.org.

The post Olympics Daily Debrief, Day 4 — Chutes and Ladders, but Mostly Ladders appeared first on Sailing World.

2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro

The Nacra 17 class made their Olympic debut on Guanabara Bay today, and though the breeze was a little squirrely, the starts were exciting, the mark roundings were intensely crowded and the competition was equal parts mental and physically challenging. Those who did best were the boats who saw the shifts first and stayed out of the holes created by Sugarloaf Mountain to the south of the course.

In the first race, it paid to go right and to stay right at the top gate, as the Swiss team, Matias Buhler and Nathalie Brugger and the Singaporean team, Justin Liu and Denise Lim did. The two teams ended the race in a photo finish for first and second —Liu didn’t even know the results until coming off the water at the end of racing. The Swiss went on to win the day, adding a seventh to their scorecard to climb to the top of the fleet. “We had to improvise and keep our eyes open to read the puffs and shifts,” says Brugger. “Everyone in the fleet had to fight for every leg.”

In the first start, USA’s Bora Gulari Louisa Chafee made a gutsy first impression in the class at the first start by port tacking the fleet, shadowed by the Canadian team. “Cutting rudders and coming in on port is a real weapon for us,” he says. “I sniffed a left shift when there was about a minute left. It’s one of my favorite starts.” The start paid off with clear air and while the pair lost boats on the beats, their downwind legs were strong and they ended that race in 13th overall, following it up with a 10th to round out the day.

“The first day of racing was just awesome,” says Gulari. “There aren’t many things I haven’t done in sailing yet, but [an Olympic race] was one of them.”

Gulari described the day as “zero to hero and back to zero.” Though they missed some shifts upwind, he says their runs were strong and overall the American Nacra team did well with their results, which he says are keepers in his mind in this tough fleet.

Fleet favorites Billy Besson and Marie Riou had a tough day, but Besson is nursing a serious back injury and after racing was having a hard time walking through the boat park. With the breeze on for tomorrow and the Nacras heading out to the Copacabana course with a big forecast, the French will be struggling to resurrect their previous dominance.

For Great Britain’s Nick Thompson and Giles Scott, in the Laser and Finn respectively, the big breeze gave them a chance to show their strength and take control of the fleet.

“It was so much more enjoyable out there today,” says Thompson. “Conditions like that are tough physically and we’re in the best shape we could be. Equally, we just enjoy sailing in those conditions. As a nation, Brits love the breeze.”

They both scored 2-1 today, putting Thompson into second and Scott into first in their respective fleets. (Results preliminary, dependent on unfinished protests)

In the Finn fleet, equipment failures plagued two medal contenders. USA’s Caleb Paine lost a mast chock and fell to 21st in the race, by far his worst finish so far. He replaced the chock and recovered spectacularly with a 3rd place in the second race. Denmark’s Jonas Hoghs Christensen‘s run of bad luck continued, and after his frustrations with the race organizers yesterday, today he pulled the clew ring from his sail, forcing him to retire in the final race.

The Laser Radials had a much more physically demanding day today, as they sailed on the Copacabana course in much friskier conditions than they have in the past two days inside. “I hit the button. It was time to really turn it on,” says USA’s Paige Railey, who tied her second place finish from the first day with another second in the first race today, bringing her to seventh in the fleet. “I got myself amped to hike really hard, I knew it’d be a speed race.” Railey nailed her downwind legs, which, in the past, have been a challenge for her.

For Belgium’s Evi Van Acker, a class medal favorite, the intensity proved to be too challenging. Van Acker says she’s physically sick, but at press time, her team had not responded to requests about the nature of her illness. China’s Lily Xu also had a tough day, dropping her from first to fourth place. She’s recovering from a shoulder injury earlier this year. “It really limited my ability to trim the sheet, so my upwind legs weren’t very good,” she says.

With a rest day on the schedule for the Radials and Lasers tomorrow, Xu and van Acker could have an opportunity to get back in the game. But with leaders Netherland’s Marit Bouwmeester and Denmark’s Anne-Marie Rindom posting high-fleet finishes consistently across both light and big days, there won’t be room for additional errors with only four races remaining before the medal race.

In the 470 Men, the Croatia’s Sime Fantela and Igor Marinec had two solid starts and took a commanding lead in the class with a bullet and a 2nd. In a speed race on the final leg of race two, the Croatians were overtaken by Australia’s Mat Belcher and Will Ryan.

On the women’s side, Japan’s Ai Kondo Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka took first blood and with their additional fourth they bested London gold medalists Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie. Still in the Game, USA’s Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha focused on sticking to the sides and finding the dark water. They kept outside their main competition, and in the second race held their own to finish in third. “The goal of day one is to be consistent and come out not having lost the regatta,” says Provancha. “The second race we had a much better idea of what was going on, but it’s a long regatta and we’ll keep reminding ourselves that this is just the start of a marathon.” Interestingly, like their teammates in the Nacra, the USA 470 women also started their second race of the regatta by charging the start line and port tacking the fleet, putting them into clear air and well ahead of their competition. They finished the race in third and sit third overall after the first day.

The World Sailing website is still having some technical issues, so full results are best found at: https://www.rio2016.com/en/sailing

USA’s Haeger and Gulari talk about their aggressive start tactics in US Sailing Team’s Rio Report from the day:

The post Olympics Daily Debrief, Day 3 — Heads in the Game and Out of the Boat appeared first on Sailing World.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition

The Finn class certainly knows how to start with a bang. Just two races into the regatta and the level of intensity is already sky-high.

The first race was shifty, frustrating a number of class favorites including Denmarks’ Jonas Hogh-Christensen. “I felt that letting us continue to sail that race made a mockery of the sport,” says Hoghs-Christensen. The Dane failed in reading the shifts and after the first leg, where he went left with the majority of the fleet, he continued to fall back, finishing 13th. His redemption did come in the second race where, after the first four boats were scored UFD, he finished second.

USA’s Caleb Paine and Argentina’s Facundo Bazan read the shifts well in the first race. Bazan held the lead from the start and didn’t let up. Starting furthest right, he saw and got the lift first and took it all the way to the top. “From then, all the race was about was sailing in the pressure and not losing any boats,” he says.

Paine had an incredible comeback in the first race of the day; over the course of two legs he vaulted himself from 22nd to 7th and held that place through the finish. Paine started the race in a decent position, but at the first weather mark he chose the wrong side. “A huge righty came in and basically the whole fleet passed me,” says Paine. “But, I knew it was one of those times where the race wasn’t over and there were two laps to go.”

For Paine, his opportunity came when he spotted a left-hand shift that Brazilian sailor Jorge Zarif grabbed as well. “I took a major risk and I was able to carry that shift all the way up to the top mark,” he says. Following Zarif, who knows the course best according to Paine, was his opportunity to make his gains, passing 15 boats. Paine’s strategy going into today was to keep his “head out of the boat,” and with the whacky wind on the Pao course, his sharp eye brought him a solid starting performance.

The second Finn start was absolute chaos. Four sailors were called UFD, pushing them down to the bottom of the fleet. This opened up the opportunity for the oldest sailor in the class, Slovenia’s Vasilij Zbogar to get a bullet. “My goal for today was to have clean starts,” he says. “I have good boat speed in light conditions and I don’t have to push the starting line.”

Unfortunately for the Slovenian, he’s one of the lightest sailors in the fleet and the forecast for the next few days is for bigger breeze.

In the RS:X, Britain’s Nick Dempsey held his reign in the fleet, though Netherland’s Dorian van Rijsselberghe isn’t far behind. In the last race of the day, dying breeze put Dempsey in a pileup at the windward mark, while van Rijsselberghe was able to walk away with it. Dempsey finished 14th, his worst result so far, but his speed us only matched by van Rijsselberghe. When the fleet returns to the water on Thursday, the breeze is forecasted to be stronger which is Dempsey’s strength. He’s in good position to take his lead all the way through the regatta.

Mirroring the men, Italy’s Flavia Tartaglini and France’s Charline Picon are both sturdily at the top of the fleet with the rest needing to play catch-up. Tartaglini started the first race of the da near the back of the pack but as the breeze filled in she took off, eventually putting an impressive margin between her and second place race finisher, Russia’s Stefaniya Elfutina. She continued to have top of the fleet results to solidify her lead.

The Laser fleet is starting to shake out, with Argentina’s Julio Alsogaray in the lead, followed by Croatia’s Tonci Stipanovic and New Zealand’s Sam Meech. Meech redeemed himself after a less-than-stellar performance in the first day of racing, posting a 5 and 6 today.

In the Laser Radial, China’s Lily Xu took back her lead after dropping to 23rd from a DSQ yesterday. She petitioned to reopen the case on Tuesday and was denied by the jury.

For results, visit: https://www.rio2016.com/en/sailing-schedule-and-results/day-9

Flash Quotes of the Day

“It’s about when you are in the water, there’s the instinct you follow. Sometimes you see something that somebody else doesn’t see and today was a good day for me, I saw good things in the water.” — Flavia Tartaglini, RS:X W, Italy, on her two bullets in day 2.

“I’m just used to these conditions. I like these conditions and when you like some conditions everything is much easier. At home in Slovenia we have these kinds of conditions, with small waves.” — Vasilij Zbogar, Finn, Slovenia, on the first day of conditions for Finn racing. Zbogar holds the lead in the class after two races.

“I have a different approach from the last two Games; I’m much more relaxed and can handle the pressure much better. I’m no longer that focused on the results, instead I want to widen my sailing career and Olympics is just part of it.” — Lily Xu, Laser Radial, China, on coming out of retirement for her third Olympics.

“It would be good to get some more breeze. Is it hard in the light (winds), not physically hard work but its mentally draining. I think the vast majority of people out today had a good and a bad race.” — Giles Scott, Finn, Great Britain, on the increased forecast for Wednesday and Thursday.

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