Rio 2016 - Kiwi Olympic reject lying second in final Rio warmup

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com NZL on 17 Jul 2016 Sara Winther (NZL) is lying second overall in the Laser Radial event in the Rio de Janeiro International Regatta, which is the final warm-up regatta ahead of the 2016 Olympics which get underway from Marina da Glória, Rio de Janeiro on August 9,2016.

Last month Winther had her appeal against non-selection by Yachting New Zealand turned down by the NZ Sports Disputes Tribunal. The Laser Radial was one of the three events in which Yachting New Zealand elected not to nominate in classes for which New Zealand had qualified in the first tier of qualification in September 2014.

The Laser Radial event in the Rio de Janeiro International Regatta is an Open event with male and female competitors sailing, including many of those who will be competing in the 2016 Olympic Regatta - however some, like current World Champion Alison Young (GBR) entered but did not compete. 2012 Olympic Gold medalist Xijia Lu (CHN) competed in the first race of the four day regatta but finished 10th in the first race and did not compete in racing on day 3.

Winther got off to a good start to the regatta sailed on the inshore course in Guanabara Bay, scoring a win, and backed that up with a fourth, second and eighth placing in the 25 boat fleet. The sailor who received the Laser Radial spot rejected by Yachting New Zealand, Alicia Cebrian (ESP) is lying 10th overall.

The series is being led by Annalise Murphy (IRL), who snapped up Winther to be her training partner in Rio de Janeiro as soon as the SDT Decision was published.

Murphy got off to a blinder of a start to the 2012 Olympic regatta in Weymouth winning the first four races, and a further win would have almost guaranteed her a medal. However she came unstruck in the back-end of the regatta and finished fourth. Her results since have been mixed, but if Murphy can continue her current run of form then she should be well positioned for a better result in the main event.

The Rio de Janerio International is being sailed in light winds, and is on the inshore courses. The classes are sailing in a scheduled sequence starting with the 49er and 49er FX which finished on Thursday, with New Zealand's Peter Burling and Blair Tuke finishing third overall. The Womens 49erFX crew of Alex Maloney and Molly Meech finishing second overall, and heading off several top Olympic contenders including favorite Martine Grael (BRA).

Racing has also started in the Finn and Nacra 17 catamaran classes. With the first day of racing completed New Zealand sailors lie in second overall in both classes.

Full results can be viewed by clicking here