It started out with big breezes which eventually faded to nothing in Tokyo for the third day of the Olympic sailing regatta, writes Andy RiceThe excitement kicked up a gear on the third day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing Competition as the women in the 49erFX Skiff put on a display of high speed boat handling and fast-thinking tactics.
\nThe wind was gusting and shifting wildly for the courses close to shore, although the breeze dropped later in the day for the start of Men\u2019s Skiff \u2013 49er competition. Some pre-event favourites have made good comebacks in the Laser and Radial events, while two opening races in the Finn have gone extremely well for Turkey.
\nBrits Dobson and Tidey lead the 49erFX fleer. Photo: Sailing energy \/ World Sailing
\nOlympic sailing: Women\u2019s Skiff \u2013 49erFX
\nThe 49erFX opened their Olympic sailing regatta with a dramatic race that fully showcased just how challenging and unpredictable these skiffs can be. Early on it was the gold and silver medallist teams from Rio 2016 who took the lead.
\nRio silver medallists Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL) led around the first mark. The reigning Olympic Champions from Brazil, Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze also had a go in the lead, but they couldn\u2019t keep the British behind them.
\nAfter a slow start, Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey (GBR) put the hammer down, moved into the lead and were unstoppable. Behind them all kinds of unforced errors were striking other teams.
\nThe Kiwis capsized, the Brazilians were lying in second down the final run to the finish but their gennaker sheet got jammed and they couldn\u2019t clear the problem, watching almost the whole fleet sail past as they finished in 15th.
\nArticle continues below\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTokyo Olympic sailing: Who will win Gold in Japan?<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Olympic Sailing Regatta in Tokyo will be a high-level experiment in who has spent the past 18 months of\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGiles Scott: Can the Brit secure a second gold in Tokyo?<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGiles Scott is waiting. Like all of this year\u2019s Olympic cohort, he is in a strange pre-Games limbo. Normally at\u2026<\/p>\n
That whacky race set the tone for an afternoon of highly entertaining FX competition. After three weeks of training in light winds, the strong, gusty breeze blowing off the shore created chaos and unpredictability for pretty much everyone.
\nThe British have taken the lead with scores of 1,1,6 ahead of Steph Roble & Maggie Shea (USA) who scored 3,2,14. After the disaster of the first race, the Brazilians recovered their composure to win the last race of the session, scoring 15,5,1 for third overall.
\nDobson was thankful to have come through the day unscathed, downplaying any excitement about winning her two opening races. \u201cI think if someone had told us a week ago that we\u2019d get these results on day one, we\u2019d have bitten their arm off.\u201d She said it was about keeping things simple, or \u201cboring\u201d as she described it. \u201cWe just wanted to be boring and then be brave when we saw the opportunity. And I think that\u2019s kind of what we did a little bit today.\u201d
\nDefending Olympic champions, Burling and Tuke had a disappointing first race
\nMen\u2019s Skiff \u2013 49er
\nThe breeze had dropped a lot since the 49erFX fireworks earlier on the Enoshima course. The first race eventually got away after 16:00 JST in a 10-12 knot breeze which kept the teams on their toes throughout. Eventually a pattern emerged and it was Ireland\u2019s Rob Dickson and Sean Waddilove that came to the fore, hounded by Dylan Fletcher & Stu Bithell (GBR).
\nThe young Irish crew misjudged the finish line opening the door for Great Britain to steal the win, but in a photo finish it was the Irish who took the gun.
\n\u201cWe came here with not too many expectations,\u201d said Dickson. \u201cThis is our first Olympics. So we didn\u2019t have any real results or goals coming into this \u2013 just to go and deal with what we have on the water, the conditions and do our best. We have 11 races to go, anything can change. You\u2019ve just got to be ready for everything.\u201d
\nFletcher is engaged to British teammate Charlotte Dobson in the 49erFX and was mock-irritated to have had his second place trumped by his fianc\u00e9e\u2019s stellar start to her competition in the 49erFX.
\n2016 Olympic sailing bronze medallists in the 49er, Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel took third. Reigning Olympic sailing Champions Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) started poorly and recovered slightly to 12th place.
\nIt was another very tricky day on the water for the Laser Radial fleet. Photo: Sailing energy \/ World Sailing
\nWomen\u2019s One Person Dinghy \u2013 Laser Radial
\nJosefin Olsson was the big mover of the day in the Laser Radial, scores of 1,6 lifting the Swede to second overall. It was also a very good day for Marit Bouwmeester (NED) who continues to fight back after a difficult start. The Dutch sailor\u2019s scores of 3,9 move the defending Olympic sailing Champion into a podium position for the first time this week.
\nJust six points separate second to sixth place in the overall standings. However, 12 points clear is the ever-reliable Dane, Anne-Marie Rindom. She has talked a lot this week about keeping a head out of the boat and looking for ever-changing scenarios.
\n\u201cToday was a head-out and a heads-up day, because the clouds had a really strong effect on the wind,\u201d said Rindom. \u201cI could hear my dad telling me \u2018sail towards the cloud!\u2019 but it didn\u2019t always work. It was another really tricky day.\u201d
\nWednesday is a day off for the Laser Radial and Laser fleets in this Olympic sailing comeptition, although Olsson would have liked to carry on her momentum from today. \u201cIt\u2019s been pretty intense days on the water,\u201d she commented, \u201cso I suppose a rest would be good, but tomorrow it looks like really good conditions. It\u2019s a bit of a shame as well not to be going racing again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spain\u2019s 23-year-old Joan Cardona is third after the first day of Finn racing. Photo: Sailing energy \/ World Sailing
\nMen\u2019s One Person Heavyweight Dinghy \u2013 Finn
\nTurkey\u2019s Alican Kaynar enjoyed a dream start to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic sailing regatta, the Turkish sailor winning both races in the Finn on the first day of their competition. \u201cI think the two races were quite difficult, different from each other,\u201d said Kaynar. \u201cThe first race was more to focus on the shifts and to see the wind and the second race was about good downwind speed, so I had a good time.\u201d
\nOne of the favourites for gold, Zsombor Berecz, sailed an excellent couple of races, the Hungarian coming second in both behind Kaynar. The youngest sailor in the fleet, Spain\u2019s 23-year-old Joan Cardona, was leading the second race in the early stages before falling to third, to go along with his third place in race one, putting the Spaniard in third overall.
\n\u201cOne year ago maybe I wasn\u2019t even thinking I could make it to the Olympic Games,\u201d explained Cardona, who is also the 2020 eSailing World Champion. \u201cI made a big improvement in the last year. I\u2019m happy that I\u2019m sitting in third, but still a long way to go.\u201d
\nThe 23-year-old is surrounded by far more experienced competitors. \u201cI obviously have a lot of respect for them, but I want to beat them. I will give my best and try to beat them with a lot of respect, because I know they are good sailors.\u201d
\nAmong those good sailors is Giles Scott (GBR) who struggled across both finish lines in ninth place, putting the defending Olympic sailing Champion in ninth overall.
\nBrazil\u2019s 48-year-old, five-time Olympic sailing medallist Robert Scheidt is in third overall. Photo: Sailing energy \/ World Sailing
\nMen\u2019s One Person Dinghy \u2013 Laser
\nThe bad news for Pavlos Kontides fans is that the Cypriot superstar finished 20th in the middle of today\u2019s three Laser races. The good news for Kontides fans was that he won the first race and the last race of the afternoon. This has launched the double World Champion into first place with a nine-point cushion on second place, which is occupied by Matt Wearn who has bounced back from a terrible start to the regatta with an incredible afternoon of consistency \u2013 4,2,2 were the Australian\u2019s scores.
\nSix points further back in third place is the oldest man in the fleet, Brazil\u2019s five-time Olympic sailing medallist Robert Scheidt. No matter how many medals he\u2019s won in the past, 48-year-olds aren\u2019t meant to be able to beat 20-something athletes at the peak of fitness, but Scheidt is no ordinary 48-year-old.
\nJust one point behind Brazil in fourth place is Hermann Tomasgaard (NOR) who sailed a very strong day and gives Norway hope of a medal in this unrelentingly tough fleet.
\nWhat next for the\u00a0Olympic Sailing schedule?
\nRacing is scheduled to resume on Wednesday 28 July at 12:00 JST. The Nacra 17, Men\u2019s 470 and Women\u2019s 470 will sail their first races.
\nThe 49er, 49erFX and the Finn continue their schedule while the Men\u2019s and Women\u2019s RS:X return to the water. The Laser and Laser Radial fleets will enjoy a day of rest before competition resume on 28 July.
\nYou can find a full list of results\u00a0at the World Sailing website.<\/p>\n
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The post Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing: Ups and downs on Day 3 appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It started out with big breezes which eventually faded to nothing in Tokyo for the third day of the Olympic sailing regatta, writes Andy RiceThe excitement kicked up a gear on the third day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing … <\/p>\n