Laser Standard and Laser Radial Europeans - Challenging Day 4

by Tine Vinther on 21 Jul 2015 Day four in the Laser and Laser Radial Europeans was governed by shifting winds of up to 90 degrees during the day caused by the changing weather. The wind, however, maintained a relatively constant force of eight to ten knots throughout the day.

Due to the drastically shifting wind the sailors were thus greatly challenged on both the Laser Standard and the Laser Radial Course. Several times the fleets were subject to general recalls and while the Radials managed to make a first race after half an hour wait it took the Laser Standards almost an hour to get started.

In the Radial Men’s fleet, Polish Marcin Rudawski had a very good day yesterday with a second and a first place in the first two qualifying races. Thus, pressure was on him from the beginning of day four to keep his rivals at bay.

He did so with flying colours taking home a third and a first place and with the allowance of excluding one race Marcin Rudawski thus maintains the lead in the Radial Men’s fleet with an eight point lead down to second place.

In the Laser Standard Fleet the incipient thriller serial of which Dutchman gets to land the seat in next year’s Olympics in Rio continues.

Yesterday Rutger Schaardenburg took the lead over persecutor Nicholas Heiner. Today the tables turned. With a ninth and a sixteenth place Rutger was surpassed by his fellow countryman Nicholas Heiner who raced eleventh and third in today’s qualifying races. The game, however, is still wide open and the Dutch thriller serial will no doubt continue tomorrow!

Nicholas is chased by German Tobias Schadewaldt who is only down by one point before he can take the lead in the Laser Standard Fleet. Today Tobias raced first and fifth which lands him a well-deserved second place in total.

In the Radial Women’s Fleet today’s two qualifying races did not entail any great changes in the top. Danish Sarah Gunni still holds first place and Spanish Alicia Cebrian Martinez De Lagos is still breathing down her neck from her second place.

Had the Laser Radial Women not been entitled one exclusion after the fourth race things would have looked somewhat different in the top as both Sarah and Alicia had a really bad second race today respectively finishing 18 and 26.

Third place was conquered by Swedish Svenja Weger who had two very fine races today finishing fifth and first. She is definitely an opponent that both Sarah, Alicia and the rest of the women's fleet ought to keep a lookout for when making calculations of how to land first place when the final race ends in four days.

Today's results:

Laser Radial Women Top Three

1. Sarah Gunni Toftedal (DEN)
2. Alicia Cebran Martinez De Lagos (ESP)
3. Svenja Wegner (SWE)

Laser Radial Men Top Three

1. Marcin Rudawski (POL)
2. Matthias Van De Loock (BEL)
3. Yasar Doga Aribas (TUR)

Laser Standard Top Three

1. Nicholas Heiner (NED)
2. Tobias Schadewaldt (GER)
3. Philipp Buhl (GER)