Australia's day

Medal Races for the Finn and the Yngling were abandoned today but more medal were decided

In yet another extremely light day there was some sailing out in Qingdao today. Sadly the Medal Races for the Finn and Yngling were not held due to no wind on the closest to the shore Medal Race course. The Finns had three start sequences and managed to get halfway through one race before it had to be abandoned due to the breeze shutting off completely.

In the abandoned Finn Medal Race, Ainslie was busy doing what is required of him pushing his closest rival, Zach Railey (USA) into last position, over five minutes away from the lead. Presumably we will see more of this aggressive match racing tomorrow when organisers are expected to try and re-run the races. Once again a lot more breeze is forecast for tomorrow, anything up to 25 knots with huge amounts of rain. We just hope the sailing is not blown off if this is true.

Today was really all about the Australian team as Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page secured Gold today in their final qualifying race. All they have to do is complete the Medal Race on Monday and they are Olympic Champions. In the Women’s fleet, Rechichi and Parkinson (AUS) have secured at least Silver Medal before their Medal Race on Monday and are only two points away from securing Gold, 18 points ahead of second.

Our special mention of the day goes to Penny Clark in the Laser Radial who, we have decided, is frightingly hard to support. After a second in race one, the Brit followed up with a 22nd. She then went out and won her next race, before scoring another 22. Finally today she scored a third. God knows we hope she does not pull another 22 out of the bag tomorrow.









Finn Medal Race - First attempt abandoned

At 14:20 local time, the postponement came down for the second time on the Finn course for their final Medal Race. All Ainslie needs to do to win the Gold is finish within five places of Railey, if Railey wins. Railey however, has to be careful as he can lose Silver medal to a number of different sailors.

Early on, the wind was looking very soft and the conditions were certainly far from spectacular. Railey showed his determination to achieve Gold Medal and took the fight to the Brit. However, off the startline Ainslie was too good and had the American right where he wanted him at the wrong end of the line.

Ainslie sailed Railey out to the far right hand side of the course and simply tacked on him at every opportunity. Unfortunately for Railey he is able to lose his Silver and even the Bronze if the race went very badly. Due to this Railey could apparently be heard pleading with Ainslie up the first beat to give him a chance to defend his medal chances. However, ruthless as ever Ainslie continued his relentless pressure. In the end Ainslie rounded the first windward 3 minutes 35 seconds off the lead with Railey following fully five minutes back.

Unfortunately the wind continued to drop off on the run and the first ever Medal Race of the Olympic Games was abandoned. Railey will be relived but no doubt concerned about doing it all again. Also pleased will be Daniel Birgmark (SWE) who went into the race in Bronze medal position, hoping to upgrade to Silver. However, off the startline he was forced to do turns and hit the committee boat doing them and had to do more, all of which meant he was only just in front of Ainslie and Railey at the windward.

We are now waiting in the hope of getting some racing in. There is only one hour left in which the race can be started. If there is no racing today the Medal Races can be pushed back to tomorrow.



Star R2

After Freddie Loof and Anders Ekstrom’s impressive win in the Star’s first race yesterday, so today it was the turn of Xavier Rohart and Pascal Rambeau (FRA) to shine, leading the race from start to finish. But at the top mark it was close. The French duo rounded just seven seconds ahead of Flavio Marazzi and Enrico DeMaria (SUI) with Afonso Domingos and Bernardo Santos (POR) in third and Loof/Ekstrom fourth.

On the second beat John Dane III and Austin Sperry (USA) had pulled up to second, right on the heels of the French, a situation that continued down the run with the Americans finishing just five seconds behind, followed by the Portugese duo some way back in third.

After his terrible first beat yesterday Star class favourites Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada had a mixed race, rounding the top mark seventh up and impressively had pulled up to second at the leeward gate only to drop back to 12th on the second beat, ultimately ending up 11th.

This race was equally not a pretty one for Skandia Team GBR’s Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson. They were 13th round the top mark in the 16 boat fleet, ending up in this position at the end, but ahead of the Germans Marc Pickel and Ingo Borkowski, who also sailed a shocker, coming home 14th.



Star R3.. Loof and Ekstrom take a tumble

However… while race two may have seen them come second last, in the third race Pickel and Borkowski stormed around the course (or as much as you can in a 5 knot breeze that drops and shifts right by 45deg over the duration of the race), leading all the way.

At the top mark for the first time it was Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams (NZL) who were on the German transom with Percy and Simpson some way behind but looking promising in third, just ahead of John Dane III and Austin Sperry (USA). On the run the Americans pulled up to second, the Kiwis dropping to fifth behind the French. However Pepper and Williams were to recover on the beat regaining their second place, Percy and Simpson dropping to fourth, but still tight with 27 seconds between the top four. On the final run Percy and Simpson came good and at the finish line were able to take second place ahead of the Kiwis.

The first beat was a terrible one for Frederik Loof and Anders Ekstrom (SWE) who rounded second last in 15th, six and a half minutes behind the Germans, a position from which they did not recover. As a result they have lost the lead overall, dropping to seventh after three races with the Americans taking over the top spot on 14 points and the Portugese and Kiwis joint second on 16. Meanwhile Percy and Mitchell have pulled up from 11th to 8th, while it is decidedly not going according to plan for race favourite Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada who have only pulled up from 13th to 11th.



Tornado R2

With some unusual results thanks to the wind shift on the first beat yesterday, the cat sailors were hoping for more even conditions today, now they are competing out on the more offshore Course E, where they will remain until their medal race. However this was not to be.

Skandia Team GBR’s Leigh McMillan and Will Howden got off to a strong start, leading around the top mark ahead of Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher (AUT), the gold medallists from the last two Games, with Francesco Marcolini and Edoardo Bianchi (ITA) third.

All was going well for the Brits until the third lap of their windward-leeward course, when the Qingdao conditions dealt a fresh hand. The result of this was the Brits plummeting from first to eighth, the Austrians down to 12th and the Italians to ninth as Athens bronze medallists Santiago Lange and Carlos Espinola (ARG) pulled into the lead, followed by Xavier Revil and Christophe Espagnon (FRA) and Oskar Johannson and Kevin Stittle (CAN).

With the wind dropping off McMillan and Howden were unable to rectify this situation and the order at the top mark, held through until the finish. However the race was also a shocker for Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhuis (NED) who came home 13th in the 15 boat fleet, just behind Athens silver medallists John Lovell and Charles Ogletree (USA).



Tornado R3

Clearly liking the light conditions, Santiago Lange and Carlos Espinola (ARG) led the charge in the catamaran class’ second race today. With the wind clocking right, the first beat was an awkward one with the Argies first to the top mark 29 seconds ahead of Fernando Echavarri and Anton Paz (SPA) and more than two minutes in front of Pavlo Kalynchev and Andriy Shafranyuk (UKR) with the fleet trickling in with big separation between the boats.

The leaders remained the same down the run, but on the next beat it was all change with the Australian favourites Darren Bundock and Glenn Asbhy coming to the front, just edging ahead of the Argies at the second top mark rounding, followed by the Spanish - just 11 seconds separating the top trio.

With the wind continuing to clock right dramatically and get lighter, the next run saw the Spanish take second but Lange and Espinola regained it on the next beat when Francesco Marcolini and Edoardo Bianchi (ITA) also came into contention pulling up to third. With 25 seconds separating the top four boats at the final weather mark rounding, it remained close and on the final run the Spanish were able to cruise past the Aussies who ended up third behind the Argies.

The race was another British cat sailors McMillian and Howden will wish to put behind them: 10th at the first weather mark rounding and ending up 13th, leaving them 10th overall in this 15 boat class, on 27 points. Present leader after three races are the Spanish former World Champions Fernando Echavarri and Anton Paz on 8 points ahead of Bundock and Ashby on 12 and Lange and Espinola on 16.

49er R10

Getting into their final day of competition for the full fleet, the German Peckolt brothers, Jan-Peter and Hannes led the charge to the top mark. They were followed closely by Akira Ishibashi and Yukio Makino (JPN) and Rodion Luka and Georgiy Leonchuk (UKR) the Athens silver medallists, who with an OCS and a DSQ have not been having the best series in Qingdao.

As the Germans and Japanese jockeyed their way down the run these positions remained the same at the leeward gate but with Iker Martinez and Xabier Fernandez (ESP) pulling up to third.

The second beat saw the Japanese duo able to pull into the lead ahead of the Germans, but over this time there was a huge windshift, from the northwest to due east. With this on the final run, Andre Fonseca and Rodrigo Duarte (POR) pulled up from fourth to take line honours just ahead of Jonas Warrer and Martin Kirketerp Ibsen (DEN), finishing almost a minute ahead of Timothy Wadlow and Christopher Rast (USA). Britain's Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes came home eighth, also their position overall.

49er R11

Thankfully the wind had settled in the southeast for the 49er’s second race today. The first beat was a fraternal affair. On this occasion it was the Sibello brothers Piero and Gianfranco (ITA) who were first to the top mark, rounding ahead of the Peckolts (GER) with Iker Martinez and Xabier Fernandez (SPA) holding third on the German transom.

The first run saw Martinez and Fernandez surge ahead and they were able to reach the leeward gate a nose ahead of the Italians with Nico Delle Karth and Nikolaus Resch (AUT) up to third. From here, the experienced Spanish former World Champions hung on to their lead to the finish but on each leg Nathan Outteridge and Ben Austin (AUS) were able to gain a place and on the final run they pulled into silver in a photo finish with the Italians.

Once again the British duo were not in the chocolates finishing in 11th. After this race the Aussie World Champions have closed to four points behind the Danish series leaders Jonas Warrer and Martin Kirketerp Ibsen. The Brits lie 9th.

49er R12

With the wind more firmly into the southeast, but remaining light, so the final race before the top 10 go through to tomorrow’s medal race, saw Nico Delle Karth and Nikolaus Resch (AUT) lead from start to finish.

Portugal’s Jorge Lima and Francisco Andrade put in a sterling first lap in second place followed by Akira Ishibashi and Yukio Makino (JPN) and the Sibello brothers (ITA), with the Italians edging up to third at the leeward gate. However on the second beat the Japanese pulled up to second place with Iker Martinez and Xabier Fernandez (ESP) third around the top mark, the Portugese dropping to eighth. The final leg downwind saw yet another overhaul in the runner-up spots with the Japanese losing out, passed by three boats: the Spanish taking second and the Sibellos third.

The race was not a good one for Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes: 18th around the top mark, they ended up 15th and this leaves them in 9th place on 91 points: through to tomorrow’s medal race but out of contention to take home any metalware.

In a classic display of consistent sailing, at present the Danes, Jonas Warrer and Martin Kirketerp Ibsen, are leading overall on 47 points, having yet to win a race while discarding a 10th. With the Danes holding an 11 point margin over the Sibello brothers (on 58), so the Italians must finish six places ahead of them if they are to secure gold tomorrow. The chances of the Aussie World Champions Nathan Outteridge and Ben Austin going home with gold medals evaporated today when they added a 12th and an 18th to their score line (which despite including three bullets also features a DSQ in R1). They still hold third place on 61, just one point ahead of the Spaniards and Germans. Thus the fight for final spot on the podium tomorrow is set to be a tough one.

470 Men R8

Out on course area D the 470 fleets were having a good time of it, racing in eight knots of wind. It has been a disappointing regatta so far for Israelis, Gideon Kliger and Udi Gal without a single result in the top ten. However, they came out of the blocks fighting today, rounding the first windward mark in first position, nine seconds ahead of New Zealanders, Evans and Burlington.

With the men sailing an inner loop trapezoid course, the fleet headed off down the run and it was Mcnay and Biehl (USA) on the charge taking first place after rounding the mark in third. Back in the field, the surprise was series leaders, Wilmot and Page who rounded the first mark in 18th but were up to 14th by the leeward.

The top two remained the same for the rest of the race as Mcnay and Biehl finished 12 seconds ahead of Kliger and Gal. Behind them there was a great deal of swapping in positions as Evans and Burlington dropped back to tenth on the second beat, then 12th by the finish. Meanwhile two boats were doing the opposite, with Onan Barreiros and Aaron Sarmiento (ESP) jumping from 17th at the first mark to fourth by the finish and Matthias Schmid and Florian Reichstadter (AUT) jumping from 14th to fifth. Andreas Kosmatopoulos and Andreas Papadopoulos (GRE) crossed the line in second position.

470 Men R9

After a disappointing race eight earlier in the day when they dropped from second to tenth, Carl Evans and Peter Burling (NZL) made sure they did it right in their second race of the day . They rounded the first mark in second position 14 seconds behind, Sven and Kalle Coster but managed to get in front of the Dutch on the second beat, going on to win by half a minute.

The Costers slipped to fourth position on the second beat of the race, which they held until the finish. Moving ahead of them on that leg were the Brits, Rogers and Glanfield making up somewhat for an OCS in the first race today and series leaders Wilmot and Page (AUS) who were also making up for a poor race in first today.

After the big position changes up the second beat results never really changed at the front of the fleet. The Spanish team of Onan Barreiros and Aaron Sarmiento did the opposite of their impressive rise from 17th to fourth this morning, dropping from fourth to tenth by the finish this afternoon.

With one race left before the final Medal Race, The Australians are looking strong at the front of the fleet with a 16 point advantage over second placed Nicolas Charbonnier and Olivier Bausset (FRA). The French, in turn have a 14 point lead over the Costers in third. Rogers and Glanfield are currently just out of the medals in fourth, four points behind the Dutch.

470 Men R10 - Gold secure for Wilmot and Page

In the final race of the men’s 470 series, Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic (CRO) lead from start to finish. However, series leaders, Wilmot and Page (AUS) had one of their worst races of the series.

The Australians went round the first windward mark in seventh position, fully 56 seconds away from the Croatians in the lead. It was also a disappointing first mark rounding for Rogers and Glanfield (GBR) who rounded the behind the Australians, all the way back in 19th position. At the front of the fleet it was the Dutch Costers that went round in second position, whilst Tetsuya Matsunaga and Taro Ueno (JPN) went round in third.

With the wind very light out on course area D there crews struggles to maintain consistency throughout the race, with many dropping or gaining significant numbers of places. However, the first run was a fairly processional affair as the teams wend downwind with the tide underneath them. Wilmot and Page were the only team to make significant gains downwind moving from seventh to fourth.

Up the second beat, Rogers and Glanfield made their move, climbing from 16th to third round the windward mark whilst the Australians dropped back again to 11th. From here there were no changes in the top three as the Croatians finished first, the Dutch second and the Brits in third.

Going into the Medal Race Wilmot and Page are still in the lead overall and at 22 points ahead of their closest rivals have secured Gold Medal (providing no protests interfere with today’s results) as long as they compete in the Medal Race on Monday. Behind them, things are closer with the Costers on 64 points, Nicolas Charbonnier and Olivier Bausset (FRA) in third with 66 points and Rogers and Glanfield in fourth with 69.

470 Women R9

Ai Kondo and Naoko Kamata (JPN) led from start to finish in the penultimate race of the series today. The crossed the finish line a whopping 50 seconds.

Round the first mark it was the ever consistent Elise Rechichi and Tess Parkinson (AUS) in second, with Natalia Via-Dufresne and Laia Tutzo in third. Importantly for the Australians, their closest rivals, Marcelien deKoning and Lobke Berkhout (NED) were back in eight in the 19 boat fleet.

With the women sailing on an outer loop course, the second leg was a long reach across the one knot tide to their second windward mark and then off down the run. In the light winds, with the tide pushing the fleet downwind, there was little change at the front of the fleet with the Japanese leading the Australians and Spanish round the leeward mark.

Back up the beat a number of teams made their move for the front. Perhaps most importantly deKoning and Berkhout managed to haul themselves up to fourth position. Rechichi and Parkinson dropped back to third, allowing the Spanish to nip in front. Positions remained unchanged for the final run and reach with the Japanese finishing in first, the Spanish, second, the Australians third and the Dutch in fourth.

470 Women R10 - Rechichi and Parkinson (AUS) guaranteed Silver

In the final race of the series for the women’s 470 Rechichi and Parkinson (AUS) continued their impressive form, rounding the first mark in first. Things were tight at the top though as the Australians wend round only six seconds ahead of Lenka Smidova and Lenka Mrzilkova (CZE) in second. Britain’s Christina Bassadone and Saskia Clark went round in third, a massive 48 seconds off the lead.

As has been the case all week there was little position changing on the reach across the top of the course before the fleet headed out on their run. The wind began to slowly clock round during the run, allowing Smidova and Mrzilkova to go into the lead.

However, it was once again the next beat that saw the biggest position changes. The wind continued to clock round on this upwind, from 110 to 135 degrees. Vesna Dekleva Paoli and Klara Maucec (SLO) had a fantastic leg, moving from ninth to fourth. Rechichi and Parkinson moved up to third whilst Lenka Smidova and Lenka Mrzilkova dropped down to third. Oliveira Fernanda and Isabel Swan (BRA) climbed up to second.

Down the final run and with the wind continuing to shift, positions were once again shaken up. Smidova and Mrzilkova snuck back into the lead with Rechichi and Parkinson dropping to second. Vesna Dekleva Paoli and Klara Maucec moved up to third, just ahead of Oliveira Fernanda and Isabel Swan. Britain’s Bassadone and Clark rounded out the top five. These positions remained for the short reach across to the finish.

All qualifying races have now been sailed and the fleet will now wait for their Medal Race on Monday. With the Dutch team scoring a very disappointing 16th in the final race, the Australians now lead the field by a very impressive 18 points and are guaranteed at least Silver. Marcelien deKoning and Lobke Berkhout (NED) are in second, 15 points away from third placed, Oliveira Fernanda and Isabel Swan (BRA). It will be disappointment for Ingrid Petitjean and Gwendolyn Lemaitre (FRA) who finish in 11th just outside the Medal Race positions.



Laser Radial R5

With the wind into the southeast, Petra Niemann (GER) and Sarah Steyaert (FRA) were nailed by the black flag at the start. However the race got off to a good start for Skandia Team GBR with 10th placed Penny Clarke (above) leading the charge up the first beat and around the top mark. Having her five minutes of fame, hot on her heels was Peru’s 127th ranked Paloma Schmidt, currently lying 26th overall, followed by Lisa Ross (CAN).

Racing the ‘trapezoid outer’ (from the weather mark down to a reaching mark, leeward mark, then a windward-leeward between the reaching and leeward marks), Clarke maintained her lead until the wind went light on the second beat when she was overhauled by the strong Lithuanian Gintare Volungeviciute, currently holding second overall and Jo Aleh (NZL), dropping the Brit to third. This order continued to the finish with Volungeviciute extending to win by 35 seconds. This useful third place finish for Clarke has pulled her up to sixth place overall, eight points off the bronze spot.



Laser R5

In contrast to Penny Clarke’s radiant performance in the Radials, the fifth race for the Lasers saw British sailor Paul Goodison get off to a slow start, rounding the top mark in lowly 28th in the 43 boat fleet. At the top mark it was the turn of Cypriot sailor Pavlos Kontides who led around, just ahead of Jean Baptiste Bernaz (FRA) and Vasilij Zbogar (SLO).

With the wind just 5-6 knots, the French and Slovenian sailors pulled ahead of the Cypriot on the run. However up the second beat Luka Radelic (CRO) made the right tactical call and was able to take the lead while Bernaz dropped down to sixth. Zbogar chased Radelic on the next reaching leg, down the run and on to the finish but was unable to catch on him, finishing 22 seconds astern. On the final run Kristian Ruth (NOR) and Mike Leigh (CAN) overtook Kontides, the Norwegian taking third.

By the end of this race Paul Goodison had pulled up to ninth place dropping him to fourth place overall, but just four points off the new leader, Diego Romero (ITA).