Paralympics London 2012 - Another tricky day in Weymouth
by ISA on 6 Sep 2012
Sonar racing on day five of the 2012 Paralympic Sailing Competition David Staley - IFDS
At the London 2012 Paralympic Sailing Competition, the Sonar class had a further three races today in Portland Harbour in what was the penultimate day for the sailors. A 13th, 10th and 10th saw the Irish team; John Twomey, Anthony Hegarty and Ian Costello move down to 11th overall. There will be one final race tomorrow but the gold medal has already been decided.
Udo Hessels, Marcel ven de Veen and Mischa Rossen from the Netherlands are 20 points in the lead so it will be impossible for any of the other teams to beat them with only one more race left in the regatta. The silver and bronze are still to play for as only two points separate second place from fifth place but unfortunately the Irish trio are not in contention.
As Race 8 was postponed yesterday, the class had a busy day today with their first race at 10am. The morning brought a north easterly breeze of 16 knots with gusts up to 23 knots which was challenging for all the sailors. John and his crew placed 13th but as it was their poorest result they were able to discard it. The team got off to a solid start in Race 9 rounding the first mark in sixth place however they were unable to hold on to their position and slipped to 10th as they crossed the finish line. Conditions eased off for Race 10 with a 12 knot breeze gusting 17 knots and the team finished their penultimate race in 10th place.
John Twomey commented 'Another tricky day in Weymouth. We’re hoping to finish on a high tomorrow in the last race of the regatta'.
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